Krait book 11a Head Girl of Prince Peak
by slytherinsal
Summary: Once again the Triwizard competition is upon the schools of Europe, and Severus may disapprove, but depressing Durmstrang pretensions takes precedence - especially as he suspects Gerhardt might make a move!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The whole Snape family had come together for the World Cup, played in Belsornia as a new, experimental permanent venue for its unplottability. The host country had a muggle princess whose consort was a wizard; as was their only son. And the muggle peasants still had the isolated level of superstition, it seemed to have realised this and to look to their beloved princess's wizard husband as a means of protection from the large, aggressive countries on every side. The country had on its statute books laws forbidding the use of harmful magic on the royal highway that ranked alongside drunkenness and substance abuse. That magic was a part of life of some people was not taught in the many excellent schools endowed by the princess; it was merely tacitly accepted that it existed and that it was not quite polite to discuss too openly. The people of Belsornia were congenitally polite. Wizards were people to be wary of, but also to be grateful to. Had they not kept out both the Nazis and the Soviets after all? The people of Belsornia knew what went on in the world outside their own cushioned little realm – they had wireless and TV and some had the internet – and preferred in the main to have a quiet, peaceful, moderately prosperous state filled with what the outside world would have called superstition to having the uncertainties of western democracy.

It was not, after all, a state ruled by wizards.

It was a state in which a wizard had married their princess; and her son was Prince before he was a wizard. He had married a witch from the school he had attended in England; but she was a lovely girl and had presented their prince with a fine daughter in the spring. It would be nice if she had a son too, but the people of Belsornia had voted out sallic law to allow their Princess Josefina to inherit, so there was no problem there. The people of Belsornia were eminently practical and their chosen representatives advised the Princess and made up her council and though it was technically a dictatorship it was in fact far more a democracy than many that were thus named since there was no such thing as party politics and there was a crime of betraying the people for which their chosen representatives could be deposed, fined or hanged according to how corrupt they turned out to be. It could not have worked had Belsornia been any larger than it was; but in a population little more than a single large city in any Western European state it worked just fine. And any citizen had the right of petition to the Princess too; and Princess Josefina listened to any plaint brought to her and had it fully investigated.

And now the magical world wanted to play a magical game there.

Well that was fine, because there was a magical organisation that made the Nazis look like pussy cats who would have liked to have stolen a country with muggles well used to the existence of wizards and, in the eyes of these fools from Odessa, used to obeying them too; and with a stake in the magical side of their country, the other magical communities would also muck in to protect little Belsornia from the Odessa people.

It would not interfere with their daily life to have this Quidditch played in the uninhabited hinterlands; the wizards were welcome to risk the dragon-infested areas. So long as their traditional freedoms were not threatened the good people of Belsornia were quite happy to make such a deal. They knew the adage that any people who would give up a little freedom for a little security would deserve neither and lose both; and they would protest if any erosions of freedom were suggested!

The ordinary muggle communities of Belsornia were eager to stay in contact with what was going on in order to take informed decisions; and so it was quite possible to buy the English wizarding newspaper 'The Wizarding Times' alongside the English muggle newspaper 'The Times' on newsagents shelves because nobody had a freer press than England, muggle or wizarding.

It appeared that most people of magical blood in Belsornia had withdrawn long since to a secret community; but even so, there was now a right to be tested for magical ability and state scholarships to wizarding schools; and it was something that might arise in any family like any other talent like musical ability or being an artist.

And as such the people of Belsornia treated it.

It was the first Quidditch World Cup ever to be opened by a muggle.

The Princess Josefina made a brief speech proclaiming her interest in Quidditch and her joy at the glad co-operation between those of the magical community and those who were their friends among the muggle world and thanked the wizarding world for setting up Wizarding Wireless listening stations for such of her muggle subjects as were interested to participate in this great honour to their little country.

Belsornia had never signed an agreement to hide magic from muggles; it had been forgotten about by the larger countries. It was not therefore breaking any laws and tentatively the wizarding world watched how the acceptance of their existence by the small number of muggles here was working.

The Belsornian wizarding community, a small contingent since most of those of magical blood had long since withdrawn to the magical country of Zorn, hidden by fidelius charm, put on a display with the magnificent winged horses that lived in the mountains between Zorn and Belsornia. They were delicate silvery white beasts unlike any of the familiar four kinds of winged horse; closest to the Granian but smaller and lither.

There were gasps of admiration at the tight formation flying of the horses, unridden save the leader who bore Prince Franz, the wizard husband of Princess Josefina. The display ended with the Belsornian Steeds bowing their heads to the box of dignitaries and equally saluting each team before Prince Franz dismounted and they flew away in equally perfect formation.

Jade had discovered from Sandalla that these horses were semi-sentient and the gasps of delight and longing might subsequently herald attempts to buy them, but they would never be for sale! Her sister Lydia's sigh told her how the younger girl longed to ride one; that might be arranged some day but only as a visitor and if the horses themselves approved!

Next the teams came out with their mascots; the dancing singing Veeli supporting the Bulgarians and half confunding all males of appropriate age; and dancing in a wilder fashion the jaguar spirits of the Brazilian jungles, shape-shifting fey whose usual chosen forms were that of humanoid shape with jaguar heads and fur on their bodies. They had females dancing lithe erotic dances and males doing wild war dances and snarling.

The Amazonian tradition was, as in many places stiff with naming magic, or rather the magic of avoiding the use of names and using nicknames to avoid the notice of the Yolok spirits; Jade wondered if they also used specific naming to acquire compliance from the traditionally rather hostile fey. They would bear watching.

Then the teams came out.

The Bulgarians were a vigorous team who held nothing back; Jade knew they had been gentler against school children for the supposed Viktor Krumm memorial match before he emerged from hiding but they could play rough. It looked as though they might need to against the big, hulking Brazilians who looked rather like Jade's recollections of Crabbe and Goyle the Slytherin bullies Harry's age. Lydia stirred beside her.

"HEY,VIKTOR! Don't play them until you've heard them talk!" she yelled merrily.

There was laughter from around her.

"Look like a bunch of 'alf trolls, don't they, missus?" said a cheery little cockney wizard nearby "Cor, no wonder they got the reputation for the most penalties in fifty years!"

Volkov and Vulchanov, whilst perfectly charming chatting to schoolchildren off the pitch had enough of a reputation for not caring if it was the Bludger they hit or a chaser who was in the way; but the Brazilian beaters Antecume and Rodrigues looked as though they would prefer to maim a person to hitting the ball.

The Brazilian supporters raised a massive cheer as their Seeker came out; Sueli Silva was known as La Mariposa, the butterfly, and she was dwarfed by the rest of her team, a tiny delicate looking woman who was as tough as old boots and flew with the grace and skill of a butterfly, seeming to float aimlessly about until finally she would swoop and seize the snitch often from under the nose of the opposition.

Viktor would have his work cut out.

The game was on!

The crowd was knowledgeable, cheering clever feints and good moves, booing fouls; and fouls there were in plenty. Antecume and Rogrigues both made as though to swing at the bludger and hit, instead, Ivanova in the midriff; and the miss was far enough off to be obviously intended.

This was enough for Volkov and Vulchanov to start retaliating for their chaser.

It was the dirtiest match any of the Snapes had ever seen, even those who had been involved in the match against Durmstrang where the reserve had been jinxing their opponents. The jungle spirits snarled every time one of their team got a penalty; and the veeli tried desperately to distract the referee from his duty.

Next time that might even be David Fraser; he was taking his International Referee's exams after the World Cup, having to mark this match too for every foul in a viva voce exam as it went on for the examining body, he and every other entrant marking this as well as sitting a written exam rather than refereeing an actual minor league match. It was considered quite as valid; after all he had proved his flying skills as a National level referee.

Jade shuddered. At least David wasn't on the pitch; hard lines for the poor man who was!

"Crikey, I'm sorry for the Ref!" she said.

"Yes, vamped by Veeli, jinxed by jaguars and barged by beaters" said Lydia. Jade laughed.

"You're as fond of alliteration as Dad!" she said. "I've missed you, being at the other school."

"Me too; but we have the blood tie" said Lydia "Jade, d'you think Leo and I are going to be an item?"

"If you don't know that yet yourself, Lydie, no-one else can say for you" said Jade. "Hermie and Ron needed a kick start because neither of them would TALK to the other; reckon you and Leo manage that at least?" she felt like being a little short with Lydia and hastily swallowed it. After all, she had been uncertain what to do when everyone was assuming she would be an item with Fabian before she knew Wulf; and it was scarcely Lydia's fault that she was missing Wulf for being left safely in the school rather than expose himself where he could be snatched for interrogation.

"Yeah" said Lydia in answer to Jade's question about her and Leo's communication skills. "OUCH!" as Viktor took a bludger to the side of the head. The blood group had absently dissipated the pain and damage between themselves in automatic reaction when Lydia added "I say, did we just cheat?"

"Dunno" said Jade "Evened up the cheating on the other side a little maybe. Filthiest game I ever saw!"

The Bulgarian chasers were obviously more talented – now Ivanova had received medical attention – and the Brazilian Beaters started taking refuge in Bumphing, hitting the bludger towards the crowd to cause a halt in the game at crucial moments in a scoring run.

The crowd booed.

David Fraser, inside his examination booth, said to his examiner,

"Sir, why don't you have a skilled chanter to put up a protective circle around the pitch and bounce the bludger back so these stupid interruptions need not be made?"

"Probably because, Mr Fraser, there aren't that many that talented ritual magicians out there" said the examiner.

David snorted.

"With due respect sir, nonsense! I'd need backup to do it myself, three others of similar ability; but Severus Snape is out there, who was my guardian; and he could do it alone, let alone if he had backup from his kids and wives."

The official snapped his fingers for a house elf and sent a message to Severus.

The elf apparated directly to the Snape family and put the request.

Severus nodded.

"It'll take a few minutes" he said.

A time out was called; and Severus placed Lydia, Jade, Krait, Dione, Sirri, Erich and Tala at strategic points.

The chant was not complex; and needed only about a quarter hour chanting with several of them to intertwine the protective wall. It might not be a dome since a player might fly as high as they wished so long as they did not leave the area of the pitch; and the protection was against, effectively, missiles, which brooms might also count as if flying fast enough.

The Jaguar spirits tried to set up a counter chant; but Severus absently dropped a silencing spell on them without breaking chant, or even getting out his wand.

Several Veeli went and kicked them.

The referee called in the examinees to back him in breaking up the disgraceful little fight that ensued between the mascots; and David Fraser was voted an excellent man to have along since he seemed to be impervious to the Veeli's charms and snarled back at the snarling jaguars.

The charmed wall was in place; and naturally the Brazilian beaters had to try it out.

The trajectory of the direct shot into the crowd hit the wall – it has to be said that the crowd behind the invisible wall winced and ducked – and bounced directly back, taking Rodrigues by surprise and knocking him clean off his broom.

"Thought that might happen" said Severus in some satisfaction "they should study muggle physics and snooker."

"It'll lead to some interesting new tactics" said Jade. "I can think of all sorts of ways of using that and I'm not even a beater by trade."

"I can think of a few things to do with a quaffle" said Krait.

"But you, my dear, already applied snooker tactics to an elastic collision between snitch and quaffle for Harry back at the Durmstrang match" said Severus equably. "Beautifully weighted and avoiding the foul of snitchnipping since you never touched it. Hello, is that a Brazilian down?"

It was; Volkov and Vulchanov were getting a severe talking to for cobbing; an elbow on each side.

"Rather an interpretive rule that" said Jade "EXCESSIVE use of the elbows. When does use of the elbows become excessive and when is it only part of a high spirited jostling? I say ban ALL elbow use. Hello, they're off again!"

It was well into the afternoon before the shout went up that La Mariposa had seen the snitch!

She was across Viktor and on it before the Bulgarian could react; but then he was in pursuit, neck and neck, the chase for the snitch taking them dangerously close to the ground, then up again! The blood group fought NOT to synchronise heartbeats with Viktor, so exciting was it and so tempting so to do; and then he was reaching over Silva's shoulder, his long, uncoordinated looking arms reaching further than hers; and the whistle blew!

There appeared to be an altercation between Viktor and the diminutive Brazilian seeker; and the referee came over, expostulating and waving his arms a lot.

The officials all went into a huddle.

It lasted long enough that the crowd started booing and the more imprudent threw things – which promptly bounced of the magical barrier on the crowd side.

The announcer was consulted.

"The officials have informed me that the snitch had been examined for the blood-memory of who first seized it and that it was grabbed simultaneously by both seekers!" he said "This has never happened in all the history of Quidditch…. Therefore the referee had awarded one hundred and fifty points each to Brazil and Bulgaria, bringing the score to Bulgaria three hundred and ninety and Brazil, three hundred and seventy!"

The crowd went wild.

And it was over bar the interviews, Princess Josefina saying a few words to the effect that she was glad that such a level of penalties was not considered normal and that she was glad that the team that behaved itself least worst had also been the victors; and that if such shocking behaviour was displayed at the next international match Belsornia hosted she would have to seriously reconsider the donation of this ground as a venue.

It was to be hoped that being reprimanded by a muggle might shame the players into better behaviour in future!

One of the Prowling Marauders who was NOT in Belsornia was Lynx; she and Hawke having been a little precipitate in their declarations of love she was busy giving birth to a daughter; and the whole of the blood group standing by to take pain and if need be to teleport in; which Lynx profoundly hoped would not happen if only because she did not think much of the idea of Hermione Weasley scolding. She was sharing the whole business with Myrtle, who was due with twins at around the same time – as Myrtle said, what else were Christmas holidays FOR – and they had decided to let whoever started first set off the other and keep the Malfoy twins busy with their respective beloved.

It went without a hitch; and Myrtle and Abraxus doted on Arthur and Erica – the boy called for Myrtle's father, the girl for Myrtle's middle name, her father's second favourite shrub – and Lynx and Hawke marvelled over small Leona Pardis as they decided to call her. Girls, they decided, would have cat names; boys would be raptors.

It all made sense.

It did to a pair of animagi anyway.

The other prowling Marauders, Snapes and friends, which is to say David, Ron and Hermione, were staying in the palace in Velikrade, the capital of Belsornia; and Sandalla of Zorn was to meet them there and thence to travel back to school.

They could feel her excitement; when the Prowling Marauders had seen her back home after the year's end, Jade had spoken seriously to Sandalla's father, prince Irun, explaining what being a Marauder signified; and how Sandalla was with a group likely to be accepted as the next layer.

"And I should like to blood her in early if you are willing, sir, to give HER the extra level of protection that it originally gave Harry Potter" said Jade "For gaining access to your country by threatening your daughter would suit the creeps of Odessa just fine; and if you knew she could bounce the killing curse that has to improve your peace of mind."

"Blood magic has never held the terrors for my people that is has for more superstitious wizards outside this magical land" said Irun. "Your father, as I said, is the first wizard ever to write clearly and with understanding; and from his references to Dumbledore I suspect they may be the first two wizards of the outer world to have any concept of what blood magic really means. If, as seems likely, she then picks one of these boys she is friendly with as a husband in the future, our land is even more greatly blessed for such protection. I have no objection."

Which being so, Sandalla was blooded to Jade, Lynx, Fabian and Senagra; which gave her a joining to the group as a whole.

"And you can blood in fully when we bring in the boys" said Jade "Whenever that may be. But now, my poppet, I shall ALWAYS know where you are; and that's no end comforting."

As a result of which, Jade and the others had no worries about Sandalla joining them. It had been a shame her father had decided it was too risky to let her watch the quidditch match with them; but that was an assessment only he could make.

The flying from the hidden valley had that standard journey feel as a background to Sandalla's excitement; but the sudden terror and pain was not standard.

"Ruddy dragons!" growled Jade, apparating in concert with all the rest to the point at which they had felt Sandalla's distress, just by the dragon reservation.

They were in time to hit the falling figure of Prince Irun's chancellor and the four guards with levitating spells; of Sandalla there was no sign.

The guards were dead; and it was apparent from quick wand work that it was at the means of _Avada Kedavra. _ The chancellor, an elderly wizard, was in cardiac arrest; and they must needs chant to save him.

He gasped as his heart stabilised and said,

"No! Never mind me, get the princess!"

"We need you to help us do just that you poor prune" said Jade with more truth than tact. "What happened?"

"There were men, in quidditch robes, knocking a quaffle about" said the chancellor. "We thought they were from the game… it seemed reasonable."

"Clever" said Severus "I detect the hand of Hersog Eduard Von Frettchen in this; Gerhardt doesn't deserve anyone that clever. The Duke is a man of some subtlety; and were he the leader we should have significant trouble."

"When they first cast the Killing Curse at the guards, naturally I threw myself in front of the princess" said the chancellor. "We know what a green flash signifies, even though I have never seen it before. And then….ah the PAIN!"

"The cruciatus curse; we felt it on Sandalla too, though I confess we though it to be dragon fire just from the fear and pain" said Severus. "They used that rather than risk hitting her with the Killing Curse I suspect; her pain was of no moment. We took and dissipated it of course; but your heart is no longer strong. We'll take you back to Velikrade for the time being; David, you'll check a geomantic trail?"

"I'll check" said David "But unless they're clumsy, if they apparated her it's unlikely I'll pick anything up. We'll have to triangulate on her mind and bloodsong."

"Well that won't be hard" said Jade "She's as angry as a bucket full of hornets being heated in a cauldron. I think I could get right to her right away."

"No" said Severus "Check from Velikrade too; get your distance and direction precise. We don't want to have you lost as well."

Jade bowed her head in acquiescence.

It was not as though Sandalla was in immediate danger after all. Alive as a hostage she was valuable. Dead she was useless. And if she died and they sent a demand any competent seer could undertake a divinational reading on whether she was alive or dead, in what state of health, and if competent enough what sort of frame of mind she was.

Unless they put her somewhere under a fidelius charm; which would block all divination and the use of blood tracing magic.

It would NOT block the bloodsong of the bloodtied any more than it could block those house elves tied by blood and kinship to the family.

Once back in the capital the blood kin attuned to Sandalla and felt for her.

"Crumbs, all the way into RUSSIA?" said Jade.

"Gerhardt knows we know where his hideout is; he might expect us to look there" said Hermione. "Odessa is big in Russia, remember how they snatched that fellow who none of us cold pronounce, the one David called Chumski, and wanted to kill his muggle mistress?"

Hermione and Ron, who had been preparing to get married at the time had not been along on that trip; but Hermione had of course heard all about it and had applied her usual encyclopaedic absorption of knowledge to everything she could about Russia and the Pripet Marshes in case of a repeat trip being needed.

"It ain't in the Pripet Marshes" said David "I'd say it's nearer to Volgograd."

"A suggestion tae ye a'?" suggested Seagh.

"Go look see the fey way?" Jade asked. Her brother nodded.

Severus paused.

"Go on then" he agreed "And if you can snatch her quietly do so; we'll mount a punitive raid later."

Jade and Seagh grinned; and stepped into the other reality that was Feyspace and ran smoothly onto the nearest ley line that would speed them in the right direction.

These Eastern European lands were ancient; prehistoric trackways made ley lines across the mountain passes, and fewer were disrupted by having been turned into big modern highways with muggle electric power following them and interfering with geomantic travel. It took them half an hour to get there.

The place was a castle.

It was difficult to find by geomancy; it was unplottable. Unplottable did NOT however extend into feyspace.

"I'm going to jolly well add a feyspace element to the unplottability of Prince Peak" said Jade ruminatively.

"Aye, that's a braw idea" agreed Seagh. "Tower or dungeon, think ye?"

Jade shrugged.

"Or even a nice comfortable internal room looking onto the courtyard only with a stout, locked door. It'd make a fine school when we've stolen it."

Seagh laughed.

"Och, ye've a one-track mind, sisther mine and time tae think on yon thoct when we've consolidated Prince Peak."

"True" said Jade.

Sandalla was in a turret room; comfortable enough but definitely a prison.

She was all alone.

Jade and Seagh strolled out of feyspace and she squeaked briefly then ran to hug Jade.

"Nice little country retreat old girl, but a bit churlish of you not to invite us before now" said Jade in her best Malfoy caddish voice.

Sandalla laughed – which had been the idea – then caught a sob.

"Oh Jade, they killed everyone!" she cried.

"No, not quite all; we saved the old chancellor" said Jade "The guards, yes, I'm afraid died under the killing curse. You'll be able to see thestrals now, I'm afraid, poppet; but they died buying time for your bloodpulse to reach us" she added not strictly truthfully; but it would help the little princess not to feel that the guards died for nothing. "And we therefore had time to save old Rooty or whatever the fellow's name is."

"His name is Rutigend, Jade! How can you forget it?"

"Easily" said Jade "I don't use it every day. I don't, like uncle Lucius, claim to remember only the names of those I like or those I loathe, but I don't bother with names that under most normal circumstances I can look up on the rare chance I'm going to need them. Have you got your bag of undies and things?"

"Yes, they brought my clothes with me" said Sandalla "It was on my broom's saddlebags and they apparated me broom and all."

"Right, then there's nothing to hang about for" said Jade "Let's get you out of here."

"Are we taking her tae dad or direct tae the school?" asked Seagh as they drew Sandalla into feyspace, carrying her big pack of clothes by levitation with them.

"Dad; Wulf's at school but better to hide her among our brat siblings" said Jade. "He can decide what to do. Now keep hush, Sandalla because we're going to scout about for how many there are here so we can do it over by way of revenge – and hiding how we nicked you – and they can hear us from Feyspace."

Sandalla duly hushed as the three made their way around the castle noting troops and avoiding hounds – dogs found scenting into feyspace hard but some could do it; those with fairy-hound blood, Jade had hypothesised.

It was a significant base.

It might even be a central base covering the entire region.

The head wizard was a Great Russian – unsurprisingly – and he was a brutal faced man who made Jade shudder faintly at the thought of delicately brought up, sheltered Sandalla in his grips. He had a great hearty laugh that rang out as he contemplated the fear Prince Irun must be shortly feeling for his daughter's safety. His underlings dutifully sniggered. Jade absently lifted a knowledge of Russian from a more menial looking junior officer and passed it to Seagh.

"Have our tools in the Vory found a muggle child who looks similar enough yet?" the Natchalstvo demanded.

"Yes; she is being brought to the castle now" said one of his underlings.

"Good." Said the florid castellan.

"It was very clever of you, Lord Ivan, to think of casting the cruciatus curse on a muggle child to record on a message globe" said one of his sycophants "To prevent risking killing the Zorn brat."

"Yes, I was quite pleased with it" said Ivan "Of course if he proves stubborn we shall have to put her on two way communication and cast it on her while she pleads with her daddy; but children die so ridiculously easily and that spoils our advantage."

Jade was only glad that Sandalla knew no Russian.

They would have to rescue the other child.

Who these Vory were she did not know; perhaps one of the others of the group might.

Meantime they should really get Sandalla to safety.

They moved out of earshot.

"You take Sandalla to safety and report" said Jade "You are the best at Fey travel; it makes sense. I will stay and snatch this other child."

Seagh thought about protesting; then nodded.

Getting Sandalla to safety was the priority and he could go faster, being half fey so long as he carried Sandalla.

He left Jade and went quickly back.

Dad would understand that she had to stay to rescue another child; and that the primary mission must be fulfilled too. If Jade was determined to stay only their parents or Wulf were likely to have any CHANCE of dissuading her!

Jade watched the dirt track in.

A muggle vehicle was winding its way up.

Jade put a glamour illusion of a tree blocking the way; and the car rounded the corner and halted with a crunch of gears that made even Jade wince.

"What do we do now, boss?" asked the driver.

"You carry the brat up to the castle" said the passenger.

There was a small girl in the back seat; she was terrified.

The driver opened the back door.

"Out" he said.

Trembling she got out.

Jade grinned.

She reached out of feyspace and pulled the muggle child in, quickly covering her mouth with a hand.

"What the?" the driver said.

He began to swear.

"That's rather naughty language" said Jade quietly in the child's ear. "What is your name?"

"Svetlana. What is happening? Why am I here?"

"That's a long story….these are bad men. So are the men they are taking you to. Do you have any family?"

The child shook her head.

"No, they are all dead… all but Dyadya Kolya, and then these bad men killed him to take me." She burst into tears.

"Tell me where you lived with Uncle Kolya, we shall check that he is really dead; and if he is we must put together some clothes for you and find you somewhere to live" said Jade.

It would not do any harm for Sandalla to have a double anyway; if the girl Svetlana agreed to it willingly. And if not, Prince Irun would give her a home for having been placed in harm's way over the safety of his own child.

"What sort of place and what will become of me?" demanded Svetlana.

She was doing rather well for a muggle child wrest from her only relative and frightened half to death. She had a direct gaze and eyes that were not wholly human.

"You are part faery, aren't you?" said Jade.

Svetlana looked surprised.

"You can see it? Baboushka said it did not show unless people could see glamour! It was her mother who was a rusalka you see; it broke her father's heart because his wife could not stay with him…but he had Baboushka."

"I see. Well, I can see glamour; those foolish men could not. It may be that any witch or wizard can see it; I am a witch but I can also see glamour for my adopted brother is part fey. You may be coming to school with a girl who looks enough like you to be a twin; we shall see about that. The wicked wizards in the castle wanted to pretend you were her to frighten her father. We rescued her and now we have rescued you too. Her father will be ready to try to make up to you that you have been hurt, frightened and orphaned."

They arrived at the child's apartment – as grim as any in Umbrous Place North – because Jade had used legilimensy and apported there.

The door was broken in; and the poor old man was certainly bereft of life. Svetlana sobbed.

Jade put an arm around her.

"Pack some clothes, little one, and then we shall leave" she said "He is beyond the veil; and he will smile on you."

The child crossed herself, as Vasilica Fraser was wont to do, backwards – to Jade's mind – in the Eastern Orthodox fashion.

She packed; and they returned by apportation to Velikrade.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jade arrived in the room with all the others and Sandalla and Svetlana stared at each other.

"Ooer" said Sandalla.

"Hold one" said Jade, and transferred knowledge of English to Svetlana.

"You look like me!" said the Russian girl.

"Or you like me!" said Sandalla.

"Sandalla, Svetlana, are you brave girls to hear why?" asked Jade.

"I am Sandalla of Zorn; what must be born shall be born" said Sandalla proudly.

"What's worse than being alone in the world?" said Svetlana.

"Being alone in the world and tortured for a reason you could not understand because they would not have bothered to tell you; so that Sandalla's father thought he saw HER being hurt" said Jade grimly.

"Oh on video tape?" said Svetlana, paling.

"On a magic equivalent" said Jade. "Here, my good kid, talking of doing things the magic way, see if you can get any joy out of my wand….give it a shake."

Svetlana did so.

Nothing happened.

"Blast" said Jade "I hoped, being part fey…"

"Teague O'Toole couldn't until his fey part was chanted to the fore as you recall" said Severus.

Jade brightened.

"There is that…. Can we do that first? Then at least Svetlana will have some personal protection…."

"Would it not be easier to make her my blood sister?" said Sandalla.

"Yes; but there are massive implications for both of you in that" said Jade.

"We will do neither until we return again from Russia" said Severus. "The girls must get to know each other better; and Sandalla must tell Svetlana the history of our world. And it may be that Svetlana would like us to find a muggle to adopt her and not be part of the wizarding world."

"Oh please sir, if it's all the same to you I'd like to be part of it. You have MUCH nicer houses" said Svetlana naively.

Severus laughed.

"We're staying with a rich family here; there is poverty in the wizarding world too. And if you wanted nothing to do with magic we should find you a family that was well enough off that you would not want."

"I think I need to know more about Baboushka's mother" said Svetlana.

"Well, well, that can't be denied; Sandalla, your room is across the way, why don't you sort out Svetlana to share it with you and get to know each other while we plan war?"

"Should I not listen, Professor Snape? On day, as a Marauder, it will be my responsibility."

"One day: yes. But now your responsibility is to this child who was to suffer in your stead."

"Why would they not hurt me? Would not that have worked better?"

"Yes; but they feared killing you" said Severus "And wanted to keep you safe as a hostage. They did not care if Svetlana lived or died. This is why we are now going to kill them; because brutes like that should not be left alive to perpetrate any other such barbarities."

Sandalla nodded.

"I see. Yes; when there is vermin that causes distress, a rogue wolf that steals sheep, it is destroyed. That is logical and there is little choice."

Jade, who had thought the people of Zorn a trifle too sickly sweet to be true at times, revised her opinion swiftly.

They had their moments of pragmatism too.

Sandalla was an obedient child as well as a pragmatic one and drew Svetlana through to the other room to unpack for both of them as much as they would need for a couple of days; and to tell the Russian child about the wizarding world.

Seagh and Jade sketched with glamour the castle and dissected it floor by floor to show the layout.

"I should think they've missed Sandalla by now" said Jade "Question is, have they reported it?"

"Somehow I doubt that" said Ron "Bullies are going to assume that their boss is also a bully; and he's going to be terrified to admit to Gerhardt that he's lost her almost as soon as she arrived."

"That's an awfully good point, Ron" said Krait

"He IS good when he puts his mind to it" said Hermione. "They've also discovered their substitute is missing I should think."

"One wonders if they KNOW or simply suspect" said Jade "The – I think they were muggles – vory people whoever they are were pretty spooked, I wonder if THEY might think the wizards in the castle just took her; or if they didn't think that, would they actually risk Ivan the Testosteronical's wrath by telling him that they'd actually had their acquisition nicked by the fairies or whatever?"

"Vory are Russian organised criminals" said David "And they make anything Kordach or any of his ancestors have ever done look like pussy cats. They are insane; vicious and violent. I doubt they knew that Ivan was a wizard. I doubt they'd believe in it. They might go on to demand what he means by playing stupid jokes and demand their pay for getting her to where he dared to try to cheat them by removing her. They work by threats; they are used to being the ones who hand out the intimidation. I expect they are dead and Ivan is expending his testosterone shouting at people to be out looking because neither brat can have got far. Ron's right. Besides, I suspect he has dealt mostly with Von Frettchen; who I suspect is a frightening man when he chooses to be. Are they of an age, Jade, this Ivan and Von Frettchen?"

"Ah, of course! Allowing for having gone rather to seed I'd say that Ivan was a few years younger than the Duke; yes, a contact from Durmstrang, undoubtedly. I should have thought. I should not like to cross the so efficient and quietly spoken Duke of Ferrets myself; not if I was subordinate to him. Ivan – what a shame he's not Igor, there's something so superlatively GROVELLING about that name – is going to hope to find the girls quickly. Should he?" she asked.

Severus shook his head.

"No, my dear, no point. We're going to kill them not play with them."

"Are we going to disappear the castle like we did the forward base?" asked Krait.

Severus froze in thought.

"Hmm, that idea DOES have its merits" he said.

"Sae mich fer tak'in' it fer a schoolhoose" said Seagh.

Jade shrugged.

"I'll forego that for a punitive gesture" she said "But we must find all the house elves first and order them out."

Hermione looked pleased.

"Och, Jadie and me'll sort that while ye set up yon chantin' nodes" said Seagh "We was waitin' aroond the why?"

Jade and Seagh entered the kitchen where nine depressed looking house elves were working.

"Quickly, fetch all the castle elves here immediately" said Jade crisply. "Including all the juveniles and infants" she added hastily.

Several elves apparated quickly and returned almost immediately. Jade had an air of command and that was to be obeyed. There were two other adult elves and a selection of young.

Any over about ten were already working; which had been two of them in the kitchen.

"Is that all?" Jade stared into the eyes of the female elf who seemed shifty.

The elf started to bang her head on the floor.

"Desist immediately" said Jade coldly "And fetch ALL."

The female elf apparated away again; and returned with a child of about four with twisted, useless legs.

"Poor mite" said Jade, taking him from his terrified mother.

The power surge was almost palpable; and as the useless little legs grew, straightened and fleshed up the other elves gasped. Jade handed him back.

"It'll take careful training to teach him to walk properly" she said "Patience as with a baby, the muscles must be strengthened."

"Mistress did not kill him!" squeaked the elf in adoration.

"No" said Jade "I don't do things like that. Now, you have to go on a long journey all of you; it is IMPERATIVE that you go straight away and return in exactly an hour; you must go, all of you, directly to number six, Orme Court, Bayswater, London, England, and sing 'Kalinka' to enact a special ritual."

They were so cowed that they did not think to question Jade's right to give orders; but left in a body.

"Ye can be muckle bossy whin ye care tae be!" said Seagh.

"It's the only way; if they once start to question they start to want to punish themselves" said Jade. "The trip to England will break the compulsions because they'll cross our chant lines; now let's get out there and set up rather more drastic chant lines."

The other members of the blood group had come across a few of Ivan's men searching for little girls in the wood and had dealt with them rapidly.

"You make it sound like 'Goldilocks and the three Paedophiles" said Jade when Severus told her.

He cuffed her across the back of the head with two fingers.

"Obnoxious brat" he said.

They got quickly into position; and began the complex dance and chant, all except Ron who did not dance, and who covered them with his wand, hovering above.

The surge of power channelled through them was larger than for the previous base; there was more to the castle.

The result was the same though; a perfectly circular, perfectly smooth hole in the ground.

"And now we wait to see if the elves come back here; or if they can reach what other place the castle is" said Jade grimly. "If they can, so can we; and I suppose we ought to, to fish elves out, which means we'd have to go to the trouble of killing Ivan to free them."

"I think the arithmantic reality of the banished place is sufficiently radically different to be unreachable by ordinary elf apparition" said Hermione "You see, the formula of the spell, when dissected in pattern form, contains a number of extra terms such that the integral of i3 +ai2 +bi + c has for the term c a derivative of a different formula altogether."

"Oh, that's all right them" said Jade "because that had to go through its own integral, doesn't it to rotate it away entirely so there's no chance of anyone apparating at that precise moment meeting someone else's rubbish going the other way?"

"Exactly" said Hermione "You could write me nine inches on it… no, actually why should I have to mark it? We can discuss it perfectly amicably."

"Thank goodness for that, I thought for a moment there Hermione had put her Madam Granger hat on" said Jade.

Hermione cuffed her with two fingers.

It really was remarkably satisfying!

Jade grinned; and sat down to await her house elves.

They turned up when an hour had elapsed and yammered in horror and distress at the hole in the ground.

"He is gone and will hurt you no more nor make you fear for the lives of the physically imperfect children" said Jade "And because you have been to England, where a ritual was performed, you have no more urges to self punish. If you do not want yet to be free, you may come with us and be owned by the school in Austria; or you may work there for pay as free elves. The choice is yours."

"Nobody has EVER given us choices before!" squeaked the oldest female elf.

"No; and that is wrong" said Jade "If you wish to be owned for now and then ask for freedom later, as you settle, that too is on offer."

The elf with the deformed infant came to kiss Jade's feet.

"Little mistress made Volly better! Lana loves little mistress and will serve her faithfully!"

"And I Jade – and I ask you to call me Jade, not mistress – will always take care of Lana and Volly" said Jade.

They had acquired better than a dozen more elves; who needed time to adjust.

But Lana had hidden her deformed son; and that argued initiative.

Lana would learn to be free; and the elf children would play with the Snapelings and learn to want to be free too.

And Jade was wondering, since the elves of Durmstrang belonged to the pupils, if she could manage to order all of them to England to break the compulsions at least when she was under cover there next year; and maybe even to steal all of them to freedom.

Once the Snapes and party were back in the Prince Peak castle they might get to know their new acquisitions better; both Svetlana and a selection of elves.

The fey blood in Svetlana was fairly dilute; and chanting brought it only partially to the fore.

Sandalla however knew what she should do; the little princess had a well developed sense of responsibility.

She explained about the blood group to Svetlana, and that this would protect her though she did not have to be a Marauder too because not all in the group were.

In the face of such a well developed sense of responsibility and right thinking, the adults could not really protest.

After all they had brought in Jade and Lydia at first for protection.

And it made life easier to just enrol Svetlana in school.

Sandalla wrote to her father explaining the whole; and Severus added a more adult report and Prince Irun sent an owl by return praising his daughter for doing the right thing; for though Jade had rescued Svetlana before she had herself been harmed, for the killing of her uncle, the Zorn royal family owed her a life-debt. Giving her the gift of magic and a home was the least they could do.

Having a new twin sister was rather fun anyway, thought Sandalla; twins could have more than twice as much fun as a single child!

Jade also murmured that it would be churlish not to write to her other friends to warn them that they would be seeing double. The whole might be explained in detail when they were physically together, but that she had adopted a twin was news of sufficient moment that friends would be hurt not to know of it before hand.

This kept Sandalla busy writing while they kitted out Svetlana.

Also to be kitted out were the two sub adult Russian elves.

The matriarch, Veta, had a sister; her mate had a brother and from these were the rest descended. Lana was the daughter of Veta and had four children from various stud-elves hired to increase the stock; her brother Lodya had formed a relationship with his cousin and they had three children.

Jade insisted that the seven juveniles should be reared free whatever the adults chose. Whatever Jade said was law for Lana; and that her children should have opportunities like people was scary but wonderful. Lana had always been quietly stroppy!

Her eldest daughter, Vya, who would enter the second year with Svetlana, was a self contained little creature, inclined to truculence; she would train well into a fighter against slavery, Jade had no doubt! Svetlana and Sandalla were immediate friends for her and would introduce her around. Her cousin Yukya was a couple of years older and Jade had every intention of placing him in the protection of Sebastian Cantripp, Adrian Petrescu and Irmi; and to Irmi, who lived with her father in the castle she introduced him straight away.

The boy was suffering the effects of several curses that needed to be undone and improperly mended broken bones, it transpired, and this was quickly healed; he acted as a page and Ivan was quick to hurt him by spell or blow.

Yukya, like Lana, was ready to adore gentle kindly folk whose hands healed not hurt. Severus looked him over thoroughly and declared that he had a low resistance to spells.

"One normally only sees this if a pregnant woman is subject to jinxes….ah, perhaps you were?" he asked the boy's mother. She looked afraid.

"Stepa could not help it" she said timidly.

"No-one is blaming you little one" said Severus kindly "It was that nasty creature who owned you before; Stepa, do NOT even think about punishing yourself for hating him; you do not have to!"

"Stepa expects always to have to" said Stepa.

"Well you don't" said Severus. "There are some years between him and your next boy; a miscarriage caused by ill treatment?"

"Yes master" said Stepa sorrowfully.

"He is gone for good; and you are safe now" said Severus firmly. "I will work on a way to add resistance to you, my boy, with a counter-curse; it may take me a while but I shall do all I can."

Yukya fell to his knees to kiss Severus' feet; and the embarrassed headmaster lifted him up.

"That is not necessary" he said gently "You are in my care; it is my pleasure as well as my duty to do all I can for you. We will give you a surname; and you will study in school and please me by working hard and doing well, hmmm?"

Yukya would do anything for Severus!

He would do well attached to that little group, now including Emily Grant at times, for Adrian had been expelled from Durmstrang for objecting to ill-treatment of elves!

He would have work to catch up; but they would start that in the holidays and he was an inherently magical being, so the practical exercises would at least come easily to him.

The rest would go into the nursery; and be reared with the other children to enter school here or at Hogwarts in the future, for Severus intended his own offspring to go to a school where he was not the head.

Lana's second daughter Beta would come in next year with Lucy Ingate, Severus' ward and a couple of the children cured of lycanthropy. The rest would have longer to adjust to freedom as a matter of course.

The surname they hit on was 'Kalinka' that being the song Jade had sent them to sing. For the Russian elves it was a song of freedom!

The school elves were wary of these new comers; and somewhat scandalised that their children would be going to SCHOOL like masters; but Sirri, the kitchen tyrant, pointed out that had they had any children it would too have been the Master's wish that they were educated likewise.

As the elves belonging to Erich had one juvenile who was to enter the school when he was old enough, and as Hermione's free elf maid Roesli was heavily pregnant with twin sons by one of the Von Strang elves who would also go on the school list this was nothing new; and the original school elves must put up with it. As Sirri said, they could ask for freedom any time and go elsewhere.

They preferred a known slavery and the pleasure of being able to gripe about things if they wished to the terrors of freedom.

Severus took the three children to London to purchase their kit with Sandalla along to spend time with Svetlana, hidden in the very ordinariness of being spare children in Diagon Alley. He was thankful again that Krait had such good economic sense as to have acquired the Riddle fortune and added to it. He had another commission to discharge; Dympna, or Dimsie as she preferred to be known, Burke had decided that the best thing for her and her brothers was to sell the Obscura Alley shop, which was the one owned by her father – the premises in Knockturn Alley was owned by Mr Borgin – and she wished Severus and Lucius to deal with the dark items that might be left in its stock.

Severus also wished to purchase the shop itself for his cousin Pete to set up as an Apothecary – now that he had an 'O' grade in Potions at NEWT level and sundry other NEWTs too – and Dimsie had been sorry that she had not known this and had set up to sell it by auction already. Pete Thomson was however the purchaser – partly due to the efforts of Severus' daughter Lydia and friends who were in Obscura Alley for their own purposes, getting to know a lad to transfer from the free school to Hogwarts; and Lydia was also big with news about abuse of Felix Felicis either in its pure form or in the inaccurately made form.

Severus nodded when she spoke to him about it.

It pained him, but he had heard of the abuse of liquid luck; one reason he was strict about how often the Blood Group might use it in their weighty endeavours. Over use led to a need to keep using it on a daily basis or suffer the same effects as being bitten by the mackled malaclaw, bad luck; and once using daily it would slowly kill the recipient. The abuse of the failed felix – called poor man's felix, though it was still an expensive commodity – carried its own dangers, since the feelings of invincibility were no more real that the muggle attempts to induce similar feelings with the drug cocaine and the failed felix was almost as toxic in large quantities as the true brewing. He appreciated Lydia's shocked horror; and perhaps he should have shared this knowledge earlier. But there had been other problems to address.

Perhaps now was the time to look into the abuse of potions in society – if only Odessa would stay quiescent.

Pete joined Severus in poking about the Burke shop; it was quite convivial. It was nice that there was no other owner than family lowering in the background to hurry him into clearing the contents; though Severus wanted it done as swiftly as possible to allow Pete to set up his business as soon as possible. He had brought the children and left them firmly playing with Roger Blake, the half elf, and Danzo gan Tokar, a near neighbour, and Jabala, eldest legitimate daughter of Kordach. Fortunately Kordach was always willing to have as many of his assorted offspring's friends over to play for as long as they wished; possibly because his own children also attended the frequent and successful children's parties of Lucius Malfoy and Kordach saw himself a bit as the Malfoy of the less salubrious end of town. He was good to his children; that could not be denied, neither stinting them in anything nor spoiling them. They had their chores and duties; and that he stuck to.

That visiting friends – at least, their better friends – willingly mucked in to help was gratifying and went to show, as Kordach was wont to say, that real Quality shone through as clearly as Solid Worth in the lower classes.

Kordach had a theory that true gentry and what he called the worthy poor were closer in outlook than the supposedly socially closer pseudo society, at the fringes of the gentry, and the aspirant middle classes, and Severus and Lucius, discussing this, were inclined to agree. Kordach, as a one time crime lord and now prosperous and only faintly dodgy businessman, saw a whole cross-section of society.

However, with the children out of the way and occupied, and with the aid of Beloc as well as Pete, Severus might take the contents of the shop apart.

He had three piles.

The first pile was what he wanted to purchase for himself or others; the second was a pile of nasty items that needed neutralising; and the third was stuff that could be sold off. Severus intended putting in an offer for the lot and then passing on the items that were harmless but that he was not interested in to his cousin Albertine to sell on her junk stall, which she kept up in addition to now having a licence to sell enchanted muggle items passed as safe by the ministry. These items were such things as toasters and electric kettles adapted to be powered by wand, a convenience for summer to avoid having to have a fire for toasting or boiling a cauldron; even magic flames gave out unnecessary amounts of heat. Electric fans for the summer were popular too; summoning a breeze was a spell beyond a large number of people, whereas the carefully charmed items performed as they were supposed to, now mostly by pressing the button that replaced the plug to start the enchantment that replaced electricity as the power source; a safer solution, the ministry felt, than the old fashioned method of using the owner's wand to power these things directly.

The selection of enchanted quills would be the sort of things that Albertine might shift.

Severus pounced on the beautiful astronomical model. It was a moving model of the solar system in a large glass ball; and showed the stars against them too, also with proper motion; perfect for teaching astronomy. It was not a class he offered as yet; but one could not deny that the astrological significance of the planetary motions had an effect on, for example the best time to gather potion ingredients.

And it was prettier than his usual well-thumbed almanac.

It was extraordinary that muggles believed, many of them, quite firmly in astrology and yet had not made any alterations in their astrological calculations to take into account the precession of the equinoxes.

Not that many seers and diviners would manage to do so were not the production of almanacs also under the providence of arithmancers.

The Penseive he also claimed with reverent joy. It was chipped at the edge; but that should not affect its efficacy.

He skimmed off a few of his own memories to check that it did not leak.

It seemed to be perfectly all right! Excellent.

Had it leaked he would have tried the muggle expedient of filling any cracks with superglue; sometimes the muggle method worked extraordinarily well.

For a headmaster to have a Penseive was rather important; sometimes with the less tractable pupils, showing them the way they had behaved from the viewpoint of an outside observer was the only way to break through to them. It also was a handy piece of kit for a fighter against Odessa; for it recorded everything seen or heard, including those pieces of information not consciously processed, so that later study might bring to the fore significant facts that had not seemed significant at the time.

He wondered what items and books had been lost with Ivan's castle; and sighed.

It was a shame; but better to be rid of a dangerous and unpleasant enemy, and in a way that would intimidate the greater enemy than to worry about loot.

The enchanted flying carpet was thoroughly illegal but not of itself dark; it may as well go back to Prince Peak for his study; Austrian law was laxer in any case.

The ordinary looking Bludger felt somehow unpleasant; and Severus used his wand to reveal what he could about it.

With a shudder he put it in the pile of things to be destroyed; after it had been activated by reaching a certain speed, it cast the killing curse on the next being it touched, and as being hit by a bludger was occasionally fatal anyway, such would be put down to an accident and nobody was likely to check any further.

The folding boat was a novelty; like a collapsible cauldron, however, Severus was not sure how far one might trust it not to fold up when it was least convenient, not from any curse but just from the perversity of inanimate objects. He laid that in the pile for Albertine.

The self-cleaning handkerchiefs he would have for himself. A vital item for any father of numerous offspring; and that was a Yule gift too for Lucius sorted out.

The invisibility cloak was almost opaque with age; there was no point in that going anywhere but the dustbin.

There were several magic mirrors with more or less damage to them.

One was obviously a grooming mirror and pointed out that a lock of his hair had escaped from its tie and that he had a smut on his nose.

Severus stuck his tongue out at it. Sometimes the more nanny-like magic items made him feel extraordinarily childish.

That could go to Albertine.

He was perfectly capable of making his own critique on his own appearance; and moreover on the appearance of his young charges.

Schoolboys did NOT like being told off for wrinkled collars and unbrushed hair and were less likely to correct such faults for a nagging mirror than for a schoolmaster hollering 'BOY!' at them for the same offences against sartorial decency.

The next showed him with all the scars smoothed away and a youthful softness to his visage. A flattering mirror. Severus gurned at it horribly and it gave a despairing wail.

He laughed.

That had cheered him up.

The next, which had a big crack on the frame that looked like it might have been from a sword blow showed nothing but a shadowy image of himself.

He used the Revellaspell.

It was a foe mirror.

Well THAT was always a handy piece of kit. He had enough foes; seeing when they approached would be useful. He must attune it to himself.

The fourth was another grooming mirror; this one was more arch in manner and he turned it face down on Albertine's pile with a shudder.

Having a voice saying,

"Oh my deah boy, you'd be SO much better for the removal of the smut on your nose and tidying your hair, you know" was not what he could face.

It reminded him of Madam Trelawney.

There were a number of everyday things that one might expect to find; poison candles, crystal balls, wizarding chess sets; the candles must be neutralised, the better crystal balls would do very well for Madam Gimlett to use with the students; and four plain wizarding chess sets would do for the various common rooms. He would have a set of gobstones as well in case anyone played. Severus loathed gobstones. He disliked the way the stones spat unpleasant substances on the loser for he was a fastidious man; but the reason probably lay in the fact that his mother's one claim to fame was being Hogwarts gobstones champion, something she had gone on about rather tediously.

Which reminded him, he must replace the exploding snap sets; and also buy some self shuffling decks of cards for ordinary games. Those long winter evenings in the Alps needed plenty of amusement for the children.

A Whist club might not go amiss and would help with their Arithmancy too; and teach them the value of not always taking advise from some of the dodgier characters among the face cards.

Dancing on Saturday evenings had been an idea of Krait's as a better way to learn steps and learn to socialise than a Yule Ball per se. A Yule party with dancing for the older ones would, however allow them to dress up and show off how well they had learned.

The dancing shoes had started that train of thought; and he checked their enchantment.

Cursed; hardly surprising. The wearer would dance until they died of heart attack. The second pile for THEM!

The chair that conformed to the shape of the seated person was rather nice; and Severus, ever suspicious, checked it to make sure that it was not cursed with an excess of comfort to keep the seated person from ever wanting to get up. This time his paranoia was unjustified.

It was thoroughly justified over the hat marked 'hat of dreams'.

So far as he could determine, the hat brought forward such excellent dreams – rather after the fashion of the Weasley twins' patent daydream charm – that the wearer would need the strongest of willpower to ever take it off and might indeed die of thirst and starvation before being prepared to forego the dreams. The Weasley charm was a finite thing – it lasted thirty minutes – and whilst deplorable in some respects had been invented with the idea of ignoring boring lessons in mind. Severus laid the hat on the second pile and wondered if it had been intentionally dark magic or had just been produced by someone with more well-meaning imagination than forward-thinking common sense.

Probably the latter. More people were moronic than evil even when that had almost as bad an effect.

He would take all the books of course; and peruse them at his leisure with a mind well open for traps. Some seemed to be children's books; but Borgin and Burke's being Borgin and Burke's he would peruse those with especial care just in case. Just because you were paranoid did not mean that people were NOT out to get you.

Much of the rest was jewellery and silverware; and most of it was not enchanted in the least. Even a shop selling dodgy magic had to do commonplace business as well.

The goblet with a magical division so that poison could be put in half and the poisoner seem to drink quite safely from the same goblet as his victim was a curiosity Lucius might prefer to keep than throw away. Besides, Lucius might even manage to find an almost moral way to use it. Besides, it was a rather attractive thing, in pewter with a dragon wrought as the stem, its wings cupping the goblet. And Lucius liked pretty things. Besides, there were a dozen ways at least to poison someone whilst seeming to eat and drink all the same things; at least if one was a competent potioneer.

It took the best part of three days to sort everything; but sort it at last they did; and Pete might hire in freelance cleaning elves and get set up. Severus smiled to himself; the lad was like a child on Christmas eve; and small wonder!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Severus was glad to have checked through the books.

Almost all the children's books were utterly innocuous; but one was a tale that seeming just a tale of adventure insidiously drew a juvenile mind into snares of selfishness and evil, and would gradually change the child's whole personality and make them into an absolute monster of vanity. It was also attractive with beautiful illustrations and a charm to draw a child towards it.

Severus burned it hastily. He would not leave an evil thing like that about where it could call out to children – he felt sure that it did – and enact its poison on them.

The characters that were the false friends to the little reader screamed thinly as they burned.

He wondered if Dimsie had been more of a little monster at first than she might have otherwise been, for having dipped into it in her father's shop.

It was certainly possible.

And it made one wonder about the likes of Priscilla Parkinson too. Of course it was easy to attribute bad behaviour to such cursed items; but of course most bad behaviour was down to bad parenting, whether by neglect, abuse or over indulgence.

The other books varied between the relatively mundane to the fairly nasty. One was actually a muggle treatise on poisons; an interesting tome and worth perusing. Muggles could be as extraordinarily inventive when it came to killing each other as any wizard. Maybe even more so.

One was a book of auror tales, aimed at the adult reader with detail and procedure; he would read them to check there was nothing dodgy, then the sixth might have that for their library.

Lucius could have the love manual; Severus preferred to have his loving spontaneous without the illustrations of the various improbable looking positions giving him helpful advice about how to achieve some position that looked more like a cross between muggle army training and something the Spanish Inquisition might have come up with. It would probably make Lucius and his reprehensible girls giggle.

Sirri would CERTAINLY disapprove; and it would embarrass Dione; and Krait would argue with it.

There was a handwritten notebook that looked to be a youthful collection of useful curses and the odd potion; Severus curbed his enthusiasm firmly.

He must not let himself engage too much with this until he had checked it out; of such was Tom Riddle's diary.

He did some searching Revellaspell checks.

It was no more than it seemed; an exercise book full of useful things, devised or noted by some long past schoolboy, from spells to potions, from crib notes to poetry – rather bad poetry – to some unknown lovely. It was almost an intrusion to read it; but though most of the jinxes and charms were fairly standard, and the potion notes largely nothing he did not know, it was worth checking for anything out of the ordinary.

He marked the fart-powered dirigible curse for example for the Marauders to copy into their book of wickedness; enclosing the nether regions with a sac not unlike the bubblehead charm the ensuing methane was converted magically to hydrogen, eventually lifting the victim into the air under the effect of his own internal gasses.

It was silly but mildly amusing; and judging by that, and the style of handwriting, one might guess the writer to have been at school during the age of muggle airships, somewhere between 1914 and 1930.

The potion to produce temporary fever symptoms for skivers was also the writer's own. Severus wondered if he was a Weasley. The anal bagpipe curse convinced him that it probably was.

Little boys have an immense capacity to be fascinated by the less salubrious of bodily functions.

The twinkletoes jinx was quite fun however; whereby every step of the victim was accompanied by a honky-tonk sounding piano note.

Definitely 1920's.

He laid it aside at last, chuckling over the perfidy of children and returned to the rest.

One was a book of curses; it would do for the Marauder's black library.

There were three fiction books of bygone times and heavy and turgid in style as such often are; and a number of assorted herbals and bestiaries.

Assuming there was nothing wrong with any of them and no traps hidden within innocuous seeming pages they might go in the school library; and the fiction books also. Some children had sufficiently eclectic tastes to read such turgid classics, even if only with the intent of writing pastiches upon them for the amusement of their fellows.

Jade greeted the jinxes with delight.

"Excellent!" she said "About time we had a change from the same old, same old; though I have to say I do LIKE the jellied furnunculous curse. Pity Morgana Fairchild's left, I'd LOVE to have her playing portions of 'Scotland the Brave' from her rear end. If you teamed that with the twinkletoes curse….hmmm." she went into a reverie.

Severus sighed.

Perhaps sharing this with his inventive daughter had NOT been such a good idea after all.

Jade was bubbling about the chance to go to the Triwizard this year; if the same conditions were on it as were on the last one she would be able to compete – with her father's permission. She was of course a year younger than the rest of the upper Sixth; and far and away more able.

Englebert Hellibore had contacted Severus to ask if his school was taking part; and if so, if there was any objection to the Hellibore Academy joining in also.

"Not at all" Severus had said smoothly "Albus and I have no objection to having our own pupils look even better."

That had taken a while to sink in; and only hit Hellibore in the middle of his polite thanks.

It had been sweet.

Severus resented, on Angelica Hellibore's behalf, that the child had suffered years of pain because her idiot grandfather was too inept and yet too full of himself to let her see a competent healer, having declared her twisted back incurable.

Her second younger half brother had the same complaint; and Severus strongly suspected a connection to his own line Prince. Bellamy should be cured as soon as he was on the train; he was not, his father wrote, as badly affected as Angelica had been but it was a blight on the poor child.

Severus wondered that the father had not taken the poor child to a healer as soon as he discovered that the silly old fool of a Hellibore was talking from his overly padded rump; but perhaps he preferred to trust a healer who had done so well by Angelica; namely Jade.

Englebert Hellibore was much like Gilderoy Lockhart – hardly surprising since they were related – and the only thing that could be said in his favour was that he had kindly intent and was not likely to kill ruthlessly to maintain his reputation the way Gilderoy Lockhart had been prepared to do.

Seagh meanwhile was out of the castle spying intermittently from Feyspace on Hersog Von Frettchen to see how long it took him to find that the Russian castle had disappeared into a hole in the ground, and Sandalla not in evidence anywhere.

Seagh returned in a bit of a hurry to find his father, very Scots in emotion.

"Ye'll aye be wishfu' tae alert cousin Draco" he said "For the Duke has a wee spy who has an animagus form; and it seems he's been ordered awa' tae find a weevil and become a familiar tae spy in Hogwarts castle."

"Once again we see that the Duke Von Frettchen is an efficient man with cunning ideas" said Severus. "That was fortunate that you overheard that. I'll get onto Draco right away. Have they discovered the hole in the ground yet?"

"Aye, they're gey certain that it's some artefact o' Dumbledore's wha's the cause o'it; and forbye that's why they're sending yon mannie tae find oot. They plan something fer the Triwizard a'so."

"Not that THAT is a surprise; had we not discussed that the moment Dumbledore and I were out of our respective castles they would think themselves safe to strike?" said Severus.

"Aye, weel, they're no' decided yet on the timing; and ah thocht, weel, we can guess fairly enough closer tae the time and be ever watchfu' in ony case."

"Quite" said Severus.

He must alert the Auror office about the intelligence – and Harry and Draco personally – that there was a threat.

It was almost the beginning of term; and it would be too late now to catch the fellow amongst all the pets in Diagon Alley.

They would have to reveal him on the train.

And well worth checking each of their own children's pets as well.

Draco and Harry called in.

"We thought if you brewed up a special Mandragora that forced a change of animagi….." said Harry "Only then I looked up how long Mandragora takes to brew."

Severus gave a fondly exasperated sigh.

"Fortunately I have already got a potion that I had brewed with the effect of forcing a change to man form of something with a natural animal form; which I made for werewolves. It should work equally well for animagi."

"Severus, you're a genius" said Draco.

"Thank you; one does like one's ego stroked occasionally" said Severus.

"You ARE a genius" said Harry.

Having provided Harry and Draco with special Mandragora, Severus also gave some to the Prowling Marauders to use on their own children's familiars.

Including those who were well established.

Just in case a metamorphagus had replaced an existing pet by copying it precisely.

There would be a few older than the new weevils joining the train; in addition to the Russian elves and Svetlana, Pamela Blackwood's sister Elsie would be coming to school to join the fourth. Elsie had been a sickly child and had been educated at home; but was apparently looking forward to school very much. There was also to be the older sister of a first-year half goblin; the two oldest of a happy mixed family in Zurich. They and a full goblin boy were to be their first non-humans deliberately enrolled; Senagra was a transplant and the elves were a trifle unexpected.

Five new ones were siblings of those already in the school; two more boys were those who traditionally went to Hellibores and who had heard much good of Prince Peak from relatives and another was a girl whose family always went to Cackles. She would either love it or loath it; her cousin was one of those Connie Hardbroom had stolen to Hogwarts to escape Gerhardt but her parents liked the idea of a 'naice SMALL school'.

The only other new one anticipated was a Finnish boy whose parents were the first to deliberately pick Prince Peak over Durmstrang.

And Jade, who spoke Finnish – despite never having formally covered comparative magic – was busy explaining at the station to the other prefects that one pronounced both of a double consonant so that Antti Laakkonen, the boy's name, was 'Ant-ti Laak-konen' not 'Anti Larkernen' as Sylvia had tried to pronounce it.

Well the boy would have three who could pronounce his name; the two who studied Comparative Magic, Lynx and Fabian, could get the pronunciation right even if they had not learned enough to gabble in Finnish the way Jade did.

Jade found languages easy; which was fortunate as they formed a big part of chanting. She had even managed to come to grips with Gaelic, no mean feat! Lynx declared that Gaelic had been invented to torture chanters; and the only rule that she could discern in its pronunciation was that if there was a random looking collection of consonants in the middle or end of a word, if you pronounced it 'v' you were right more often than not.

Pamela Blackwood was early enough for the train, with her small sister Elsie. Elsie was a thin child who still looked a little peaked; but her eyes were bright and intelligent and eager. Jade thought she looked like a little sparrow.

"There's another new one in your year, Elsie, a boy called Yukya Kalinka, he's Russian; he's an elf."

"An elf? I SAY! They are capable of learning then? I never met any elves" said Elsie.

"Tactless clot" said Jade "Try not to say things that could be construed as racist remarks my good ass! Pam will surely have told you how well THAT's tolerated!"

Elsie went crimson.

"I didn't mean it like that" she said

"Yes, that's why you get a gentle reproof for foot-in-mouthery not a ticking of" said Jade "You stick with Yukya and find your feet together; I expect your tutor has taught you things he doesn't know, and he knows practical things you don't know, and he's a gentle little soul so he won't tire you."

"All right" said Elsie.

"I'll take you to go look for him" said Pamela.

The two half goblin girls were next; the first half cringing, half apologetic for existing, still wondering if they would be turned away; the younger walking proudly in her new brown and flame uniform and beaming at all and sundry.

"Leneli and Roseli Accola?" asked Jade "How pretty you two are! And how well your hair blends with the uniform; it's as flame coloured as our ties!"

Roseli giggled.

"Yes, it is most fortunate that we do not clash! If it had been crimson, how unfortunate that would have been!"

"Crumbs yes!" said Jade "And the Lowther twins – they're in your form, Leneli – equally at odds, for they're as ginger as can be! The beauty of brown and flame is that it doesn't clash really with anyone, though it does less for those with pale dark haired good looks; but then people like Lynx here choose the flamboyant flame coloured summer frocks."

Lynx grinned.

She was fully over birthing her daughter and back to a slim, schoolgirl figure with the midwifery spells that helped that sort of thing as well as with her own energetic lifestyle. She would apparate back to school once the train was ready to leave, to take her daughter's feeding arrangements into account; but none but her own set would even know she had a child. She planned to express milk to go with Jade to the Triwizard – for she must try to see if she was chosen not Jade, and if not, she wished to support her friend. There might, after all, be jiggery pokery at Durmstrang where the competition was to be held; and Marauders hung together. And it would not be safe to take Senagra amongst such racists!

Senagra herself smiled at the new girls.

"Yes, our colours even flatter those of us who are wholly goblin; I love it!" she said.

Leneli looked shyly at this big girl, a full breed who showed no signs of despising her, and who had on a badge saying 'prefect'; and gave her rather solitary and shy little heart in hero worship.

"Well there's only one other first year here, he's on the train with his big brother" said Jade "Poor Ulrich! He so efficient and organised, and along comes Reinulf who looks as though he's coming apart at the seams because he doesn't bother to take his head out of a book when he's packing!"

"Pots and cauldrons, Jade!" laughed Fabian.

"Wrong, my friend, I pack very efficiently AND fast to give me more reading time" said Jade. "Mum taught me THAT one. Crumbs, I wonder if Rose Hubble's trunk is going to explode again?"

"Oh don't!" said Lynx with a groan "Oh good, Milos Milic, here's Leneli, she'll be in your form, reckon she may be a saving grace for you from the three wet girls and the gang of four."

Milos grinned.

"Muriel is not so bad save when her wretched Nifflers get out" he said "And the four are friendly to me; but if a special friend is to be mine I should like it very much" and he held out his hand.

Milos had defected from his journey to Durmstrang and Severus had needed to see his parents and sort out his transfer; he was a boy who read history, wizarding and muggle both, and held radical ideas.

The idea of a half goblin in his form was something he approved of.

Leneli was about to get looked after firmly.

They went through with Milos asking,

"Excuse me it is not a question in the spirit of rudeness but how is the lot for goblins and half goblins here in Switzerland? You are Swiss by your name?"

The downtrodden girl started on a torrent of what was wrong in society.

As Milos was not only likely to listen politely but agree and start to plot how to overthrow all European governments to put the world to rights Leneli should be perfectly happy.

The four Muggle Marauders arrived next in a body and were sent aboard to meet their new classmate.

They were hardly less radical than Milos.

The European governments were in for an interesting time in the next five years or so.

Things WERE changing.

France had declared the right of Goblins who were accredited students to bear wands and those with written qualifications; and if this concession was to cock a snoot at Germany more than to bring about much equality then it was a start. Whether any wealthy goblins had yet enrolled in Beauxbatons Jade did not know; but as Madam Maxime was herself only half human she was likely to be quite flexible.

Switzerland had changed its law to be in line with France; partly because it had already declared permission for goblin scholars travelling to Prince Peak to carry wands.

The Swiss believed in making money.

If they might make more money with an educated goblin community, the Swiss were all for it.

They had the biggest and most complex banking arrangements in the world; their goblins were known as 'the kobbolds of Zurich' and the term had even got into the muggle community though they did not use it knowingly and translated 'kobbolds' as 'gnomes'. To have goblin curse breakers who had trained in Arithmancy and Defence against the Dark Arts would be a bonus.

Trained Dowsers and Geomancers too would aid with finding the ever decreasing veins of metals to mine.

Switzerland was likely to come into line with Britain in full equality very soon. It made economic sense. It would take longer for social change to occur; as it was in Britain; but Jade thought that by the time the radical Leneli left school most of the changes she demanded would have already been implemented!

"Hello, Prince Peak?" said a small boy "I'm Blaise Paddock. I say are you big people going to try for the Triwizard?"

"Hello Blaise; I'll say" said Jade.

"My brother really wishes he was old enough, 'cos there aren't going to be many going from Hellibore's" said Blaise. "If he was a year older he could have a shot with dad's permission. He's taking OWLs this year; and if I like it here, he's going to transfer for the sixth."

"Uncommonly good of him" said Jade.

Blaise beamed.

"Well it seemed silly to have an upheaval in his OWL year and nobody thought of it last year until there was such good reports of how people did especially Edward Dubois who transferred, his sister's going to be in the first, she's all right for a girl really, so mater and pater thought I might do better here and Gaius to do the whole sixth form thing."

"Well Bethany's a decent type so one hoped that Bathseba would be too" said Jade. "There's another boy weevil on the train, name of Reinulf, and a girl called Roseli, you can't miss her, she has hair the colour of the ties, and here are the Dubois girls, Bathsheba, I hear you know Blaise here, the pair of you get on before I lose either of you" she smiled at Blaise's mother, hovering in the background "You can go through to see them off if you like, Madam Paddock" she added "Though if he knows another weevil I doubt you'll get any sense from him, small boys being what they are."

Madam Paddock smiled a harassed smile.

"Fortunately Blaise has the aplomb of the truly placid! He's like his father, nothing flusters him. Gaius is more easily put out; one reason we left him where he knew what he was about. Is it true you have people take as many as eleven OWLs here now?" she asked in awe.

"Yes, I did miyself" said Jade "Well, I've taken twelve because we got offered Chanting last year; and then it's a scramble to do the work so we can take it as a NEWT alongside the rest."

"But then Jade IS taking eight NEWTs" laughed Lynx "us sane ones are sticking to six; much less stressful!"

"SIX? I never even took six OWLs at Cackle's!" said Madam Paddock.

"Well the quality of teaching was rather dire" said Jade candidly "I'm surprised anyone passed anything except potions; Great Auntie Connie IS a good teacher. I give great credit to anyone who came away with anything from it! Mind you, I guess that Hellibore's son is sending HIS sons to us also says something" she added "One'll be in Blaise's class and here he is, Hi Angelica, hello AHHa, which one is this, oh yes, Bellamy. That's not TOO bad I suppose but I think BaHH goes better with your brother."

Bellamy – or BaHH – grinned happily.

"Are you Jade and are you going to fix my back?" he said.

"Yes when we're off and running; nip aboard and find Blaise, Reinulf, Bathsheba and Roseli" said Jade "Here, take Antti through with you; Antti, this is Bellamy also known as BaHH which he will explain on the train" she switched rapidly to Finnish.

The newly arrived child stared.

"You can speak my language and you pronounce my name correctly!" he said.

"Yes, but you will speak the three other languages on all but Sundays and merely shine in comparative magic if you ask to take it. By the time you take electives we should have it up and running" said Jade. "Try not to get into too much trouble by the time we get to school."

"But I will not get in any trouble!" said Antti "I am not like a Durmstranger to be trouble!"

Jade sighed.

"I meant mischief; which is mostly harmless" she said.

Oh dear! He had looked almost priggish for a moment there!

The prosperous goblin was the one who had asked last year about goblin places, on seeing Senagra; he had a small boy with him. Jade smiled.

"Hello sir! I wondered if it might be your son who would be joining us this year! You'll be Arbrek Gan Borek then, young man?"

The lad nodded.

He was neither ingratiating not subservient; nor was he cocky. He was bright eyed and interested and watchful.

He also had a rather expensive looking broom; a Millenium Firebolt, arguably the best broom available.

"Well, we haven't banned brooms for first years the way Hogwarts do; but we never put them on the kit list as we've been playing with the school brooms, dad bought two dozen Nimbus 2000's" said Jade "If you get envious comments laddie for having the best broom in school, it'll be quite understandable; I don't think we've got any who'd be spiteful about it but I'm just warning you."

"Oh please, I so love quidditch!" his face was animated suddenly "And I've practised on it a bit out of sight and I love it so much!"

"Well, laddie, if you'll take advice, once your friends have proved they don't actually crash ordinary school brooms, let them have a try on it" said Jade.

"Oh I was going to!" said Arbrek "And if we play fixtures, unless the seeker has one as good, I though I'd lend it. If that's all right?"

"You'll do our kid" said Jade "I've my own for the first seven – it IS the best broom in the world whatever the Americans claim for the Lone Star Twenty – but we're hoping to put together a second seven. If you play up, you might even be in it; we've some talented juniors though so you'll have to work at it!"

"Oh I SHALL!" said Arbrek "And I shall work at my lessons too of course!" he added hastily.

The Hubbles arrived at that moment

"Sorry we're late!" said Sylvia, one plait coming undone "Rose remembered half way that she'd forgotten her text books and then we had to get them in her trunk!"

Jade gazed at the bulging trunk and groaned.

"WHAT happened to all those packing lessons last year?" she said severely "WHAT an example to the two new warts in your year, let alone all the weevils! Crumbs Rose, couldn't you get the kitchen sink to fold up any smaller?"

Rose giggled.

"It's just sort of malevolent" she said "Clothes I mean. I think they get infested with dark magic and loom over the top at me!"

"Rose my poppet" said Jade with a sigh "I did NOT fight Voldemort to wrestle with the many headed and mutable monster of your luggage! Get on board and TRY not to explode before we get there!"

Eve Cherrytree arrived next of the weevils, a self contained child who assessed which were the prefects. Jade tried not to dislike her. After all, Fred and Flo Visick had sucked up and they had turned out fine once the trouble that made them attention seekers had been sorted out. They were aboard; and a set of Weevil twins arrived with their sister Leticia Villeneuve. Emil and Cecilia were good looking children with no nerves.

Nor were there any nerves about Engelram Langstaff, last on Jade's list of weevils.

"You're a cousin of Maud who's at Hogwarts, aren't you?" she asked.

"Well unfortunately yes" said the boy with a bit of a sneer "Uncle Merlin married rather beneath him to the Hubble woman; my parents wanted me to come here because it's getting a reputation for academic excellence; something Maud is scarcely likely to know anything about."

"What a nasty thing to say!" said Jade "Maud is a hard working and very able little scholar by all accounts; as all Hubbles are hard workers! Besides, talking about 'marrying beneath someone' is the most awfully blood snobbish comment to make and shows a lack of breeding."

"Indeed? But I suppose if you've NO breeding you wouldn't know."

"You are an insolent child" said Jade coldly "I suggest you learn a few manners or you'll be on prefect detention double quick."

"Why should I take notice of other schoolchildren?"

"Because the prefects are chosen by the head as his in-school deputies; and brooking them is brooking HIM" said Jade quietly "And therefore if you refuse prefect impots, you'll wind up in the head's office; and possibly summarily expelled. You enter into a contract when you come to school; you get education in exchange for sticking by the rules. Break the rules and then the school is no longer under obligation to provide you with education. It's a service; NOT a right. Now get on the train and try to mend your manners before I see you again."

Lynx leaned over as he moved forward.

"I never heard any Langstaffs except Maud ever got invites to her Uncle Lucius's little place in Wiltshire….it's called Malfoy Manor but it may be too small for you to have heard of. Oh yeah, and another of her uncles is Severin Prince, and Maud's best friend is own sister to Madam Narcissa Malfoy and her cousin is my uncle Mr Sirius Black. Don't you EVER call small Maud Langstaffe down in the hearing of ANY of us you affected little tick; because you have NO right. Now get on the train and mend your manners like Snape said before any of us have to see you again. Though if you can't, please refuse prefect impots; I think I'd be quite happy to see YOU expelled."

Engelram Langstaffe goggled.

But the Hubbles WERE below his uncle, his dad said so!

How come Maud knocked around with the TOP echelon of society?

Hallows, Hellibores and Langstaffs were at the edges of high society, like Averys, Parkinsons, Bullivants and Crabbes, suitable marriage partners to the highest whilst not being quite in the upper class themselves.

Hubbles were well enough born but looked down on by many because they were, like the Weasleys, relatively poverty stricken.

But that girl who bawled him out was niece to Lucius Malfoy? THE crème de la crème of society? And related to another council member? But how could she accept such low vulgar types as Hubbles over HIM?

Engelram was much confused.

After he had gone in, Jade said,

"Harsh, Lynx"

"He had to have his 'I'm better then youery' stamped on" shrugged Lynx "About time he learned what Class really means; his father's obviously a bounder."

"Yes; and it isn't the poor little brat's fault entirely in that case. Draco was almost as bad once, by all accounts; we need to shake the brat down and show him the real values in life."

"Well I back you either to do that or he'll get himself expelled in rebelling against your attempts" said Fabian.

Jade shrugged.

"Que sera, sera" she said "Bugger off Lynx; you're seeping milk."

"On my way" and Lynx apparated.

Only a few running for the train now – the Tugwood twins in a hurry and most of the irresponsible girls of the third – and Muriel behind them, ALL the irresponsible girls of the third – and then they might board the train and be on the way back to school!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was of course AHHa who was causing the stir on the train.

The boy had been to a muggle car boot sale – this, as Jade told herself severely was what came of telling Marauding stories of how the Malfoy twins unearthed a load of wizarding stuff at a boot sale – and had bought a hair dryer which the little horror had proceeded, highly illegally, to enchant.

"Confiscated until it's had a safety check put on it" said Jade firmly.

"Ohhw" said AHHa.

"Tough" said Jade "We had a nawful job getting the ministry to accept certain muggle goods to be declared safe for enchantment; well, Lucius did; and I don't want to see it rescinded just because some little horror can't keep himself to proper channels of purchase. I can get it checked and passed; and you may have to pay a surcharge but then it'll be legal and your parents won't face a gaol sentence – yes, my lad, they could – for permitting you to have potentially dangerous objects. I know how many ways hairdryers can be faulty my lad; and you DON'T want a nasty burn from one that's naff."

"Sorry Jade; I didn't realise it was that serious" said AHHa chastened.

"I know; but I'm explaining why you shouldn't whinge at me confiscating it" said Jade "I'll try and let you have it back before the Triwizard starts, all right?"

AHHa brightened.

"Ta, Jade!" he said.

The first duty on the train was to squirt all familiars with the improved Mandragora.

The prefects claimed that it was an experimental prophylactic against chizpurfles and would cause no harm though they personally doubted its efficacy.

"But one doesn't turn down free samples" said Fabian cheerfully leaving the suggestion that some potioneering firm was trying to sell it by handing out a sample to try. The which was accepted without question.

Nobody had any dodgy familiars.

The prefects, on the train, had a further duty.

They had to write the name of the person they thought best to be Head Boy or Girl and put it in the voting box, choosing from amongst the other prefects, including the new ones, this year consisting of Seagh, Hester, Harmony and Angelica.

Jade thought hard; and wrote down Fabian.

He was more reliable than Sylvia, though Sylvia was certainly a contender.

Lynx had too much to do with her baby to be saddled with being Head Girl as well!

Otherwise the journey was moderately uneventful; especially by comparison to Hogwarts Express journeys where prefects might be expected to unjinx several people.

Only the Langstaff boy required unjinxing; and discovering that he had been given backward knees and tentacles for a racist comment about the goblin lad, Jade had promptly turned him into a woodlouse for the duration of the journey explaining that this was the staff and prefect punishment for dirty little racists and if he ever used the words he was thinking she would fill his mouth with soap too for good measure.

She released him at the station and required him to beg pardon of Arbrek on pain of spending all his spare time in detention until he did and be on head's report.

The apology was not gracious; but sincere after a fashion.

Engelram sincerely did not want to lose all his free time or get expelled before he'd even started.

The new first years went up on the first cable car with Fabian and Jade to be stowed firmly in their respective dormitories under the auspices of an appropriately gendered prefect who would also provide advice about how to pack things away for the greatest ease. Wardrobes built into the walls and drawers under the big four posters provided ample space for even Hubble girls. In the big prep rooms each class had its own bookcase divided into sections with the name of each child on each section; there was no excuse for losing books because ample room was provided. Sixth formers had studies of course; and therein had all the shelving they would need for the many, varied, and at times esoteric books that they were studying, both their own and from the library. School books had no place in common rooms or in bedrooms; Severus and Krait both felt that too much study in off hours and odd places took place at Hogwarts and that rest for growing brains actually improved alertness and levels of achievement. Thus Prep rooms or the library, and of course the classrooms, were the only places that had any business to have any text books.

One did not entirely count the use of 'One Thousand Magic Herbs and Fungi' being used to prop up a broken chair leg in Hilda Hubble's bedroom – which as head girl she had in solitary splendour last year – until Jade found out and mended the chair with a quick _reparo_ spell.

Merope, the school ghost – the only school ghost so far for Miss Cackle had disapproved of ghosts and had managed to banish any extant ghosts and Severus had not yet discovered where they had gone – greeted the girls happily. Merope liked to meet new little girls; it made her feel useful to be part of the welcoming process.

Her presence was greeted with a few gasps; but with Jade introducing her cheerily the girls accepted her presence with more or less equanimity.

The Villeneuve twins looked like being more of joiners than their sister, whom Jade did not particularly like; Cecilia was bombarding their shepherding prefect with questions about the MSHG which had apparently been introduced to the weevils by BaHH who knew all about it from siblings. Of the four little girls – they had far more boys than girls this year it seemed – three were definitely interested, Cecilia, Bathsheba Dubois, whose sister was also a member and whose brother had been for his short upper sixth career in the school and Roseli Accola. Eve Cherrytree had apparently declared that joining secret societies was not 'naice' and had henceforth been ignored along with Antti Laakkonen and Engelram Langstaff. Blaise Paddock had been dubious but listening. The idea that the MSHG helped one to learn more was what won him!

Jade could not help comparing the boy to Ernie MacMillan in Harry's time; heart in right place but a little stuffy at times. She absently mentally sorted him and Antti as Hufflepuffs and the obnoxious Engelram as Ravenclaw. It helped a little in the struggle to be tolerant. Fabian told her that all the boys bar Antti and Engelram were interested in the MSHG though there was already a closer alliance shaping up there in BaHH, Reinulf and Arbrek.

"Lumme, more trouble" grinned Jade "I'd not be surprised to see Bathsheba – what a name! – joining them; she has that look in her eye. Are we going to blood in AHHa and co? if we have a big attack from Odessa during the Triwizard with some of us away, it might not be a half bad idea to have more to draw on even if they're not supposed to be doing much in the way of fighting."

Fabian nodded.

"Not so daft. And what about the Muggle Marauders?"

"A good question…. They've already risked blood magic for each other; that level of loyalty should not go unrewarded. I know dad was wondering about slowing down the growth of the group but with an opponent like Odessa I don't feel we can really do so. We'll hold a meeting and send someone to bring them blindfolded and mysteriously to the marauding room; tonight will do as well as any."

"No fuss about arithmantic times?"

"With this many it scarcely matters so long as the time is not INauspicious. Unless it's a special blooding to bring anyone on. Not that that stopped Sandalla and Svetlana just getting on with it and beaming at us as a fate accompli. Uuugh, I could do with my tea!"

At the meal Severus announced who the head was to be.

"There were two main contenders, but first by respectable margin was Jade Snape; and her deputy is to be Fabian Ramage since it seems to me that in a new and vibrant school a deputy who was the second contender should also be honoured."

The school cheered.

Jade and Fabian went to receive badges; and curtseyed and bowed to the Headmaster. Jade addressed the school.

"Right you lot; a lot of us prefects will be out of school for extended periods for the Triwizard Competition, either as champion or supporting the one who is. The reason for this is serious; most of you by now will surely have heard of the threat of Odessa. Odessa recruits in Durmstrang. While young English witches and wizards keep the students of Durmstrang feeling that we can lick them at anything this gives the free world a psychological advantage. Otherwise I'm not sure that we'd bother. However, the fact remains that we SHALL be out of school; and the Headmaster too. If you let him and us down by behaving like yobs the moment there's a relaxation in prefect control you so will let us down and yourselves too and what's more we shall stamp all over anyone who has had such ill-bred contempt for us when we return. Ragging to a minimum please; and try not to get into too much accidental trouble, this means the Hallow-Hellibore boys and cronies."

AHHa and BaHH gave her almost identical injured looks on general principles.

There was a new partial member of the sixth to be introduced too.

Tony Queach was to be a part time classroom assistant for Miss Bat helping out with junior chanting; and would be studying with the NEWT chanting class also. Jade and friends knew him from Hogwarts; he had just finished his NEWTs but like Lionel Dell wanted to learn chanting to a higher level than the OWL he had taken in its first year of being offered. Indeed he wanted to study higher than NEWT; and would be working with Severus in private study to this end. He intended to teach full time at Hogwarts once he had his NEWT and Severus was glad to think that there would be a competent chanter on the staff there as backup to Albus.

The upper sixth welcomed Tony cheerfully and Jade told him that stuffy old Ravenclaw or not they were NOT going to call him Professor Queach amongst themselves.

Tony grinned.

"Good" he said.

The little ones were to do so; it would help Tony to ease into teaching and also keep discipline in class.

And in a year he would be Professor Queach for real in Hogwarts!

Four small boys in one year and four small boys and two small girls in the year below received mysterious letters telling them to meet at the bottom of the main staircase at midnight and signed 'M' for Marauders. The notes burned to a crisp the moment they had been read.

The Muggle Marauders and the would be Marauders were much excited.

Svetlana may not be ready to Maraud; but she was bloodgroup now and must be given a full blooding.

It may be said that ten small people had trouble going to sleep even though banished to 'at least lie down' a little early by quiet prefect suggestion.

They put alarm clocks under their pillows just in case.

At Midnight creeping and giggling and somehow even so managing NOT to wake their fellows the ten children convened at the bottom of the stairs.

There was no-one in sight.

Blindfolds suddenly whipped out of nowhere and were fastened round eyes; and hands caught arms from behind and propelled the neophytes to parts unknown.

They stumbled up and down stairs and through passages narrower than any they had yet seen, barking the odd elbow; and were finally told to take off the blindfolds.

They were in a fairly large room.

Bearing in mind how cramped the Marauding room was in Hogwarts, Severus had built this one partly in wizarding space, wrapped with a fidelius charm and with extensions of that into feyspace just in case. Severus believed that feyspace could counteract a fidelius charm and was not about to take any foolish risks.

The children were a little shocked to find grown ups there as well; and some rather unexpected grownups at that, like Madam Granger and the Headmaster himself.

Severus raised a hand.

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'" he said.

The giggled but did so.

"Good; you can now be enrolled properly as Marauders" he said.

It may be noted that Hermione DID sigh a little at the solemn vow.

Others there were Krait, Sirri, Beloc, Ron, Dione, David, Ellie, Erich, Tala, Wulf, Jade, Fabian, Senagra, Lynx and Lilith who claimed the right now she was big enough to make vows.

"You see before you a selection of Marauders past; who still uphold what it is to be Marauders, to redress wrongs, protect those who need it and fight evil" said Severus "And also those who, whilst not Marauders, still are of one blood, to bleed for their friends. We expect an attack from Odessa when they THINK we are helpless for having me being at the Triwizard with many of the sixth. They will be wrong. There are those Marauders who emerge as leaders; but the point of being a Marauder is that any one can assume leadership and be the focus of the power of the others. We are all strong individuals. Svetlana, my dear, you were rather precipitated into this, you must blood in properly but if you prefer not to be a Marauder, Sandalla will understand."

Svetlana put her chin up.

"Somebody has to make a stand" she said "My uncle was a man of peace who said, let the vory be; and see how they served him! I will Maraud!"

Sandalla squeezed her hand.

There was that about them that reminded Severus of the Malfoy twins when Hawke had first become Abraxus' twin. He had little doubt that they, like the Malfoy twins before them, would undertake subtle transfigurations without even realising that they did it to become even more alike.

"Very well; Hermione, as she is when marauding, has made the best time calculation. I will leave her to count us in to slit palms and join" said Severus.

Hermione duly counted them in; and nervously they cut open their palms, and mingled each with each other, feeling the blood surge suddenly aware of each other as never before; though of course the Muggle Marauders had already experienced it. And they knew the language as snakes as the established members hissed,

_**ssss**We be of one blood, ye and I!**ssss**_

And then they were drained, exhausted; and the adults were handing out hot cocoa and biscuits.

"TRY to remember to clean your teeth again before you go back to bed" said Hermione in a tone of voice that knows it is fighting a losing battle.

And they were now of the blood of the marauders; trusted to fight for what was right, to take a very real part in helping their elders.

It was agreed that AHHa and co would be given the official name, the First Peak Marauders; as they had been the first to wish to maraud. The Muggle Marauders kept the name. It was the loyalty to the muggle members that had caused their invitation in with the rest.

And so another layer of Marauders was born.

Term began with a swing.

Fred and Flo Visick were so delighted with the progress their little brother was making that they made thoroughgoing nuisances of themselves hanging around Jade and Severus both, trying to be helpful; and it was with the greatest of difficulty that Jade avoided sending them scurrying about their business! They were sweet kids now they'd learned not to suck up and Jade had to hide a smile when Flo protected her firmly from Eve Cherrytree when the younger girl wanted to report some mischief.

"Unless it's dangerous mischief, young Cherrytree" said Flo with a worldly wise air "You just don't DO that sort of thing, not unless you want to be despised. When you've been at school for a while you'll discover that there's a moral and social code; and sneaking on people is considered really rather dirty. You should try to get your own fellows to do the straight thing if you think they're not quite being straight but unless it's going to involve innocents it's none of your business. Is it dangerous?"

"Depends what you mean by dangerous" said Eve sulkily "YOU can't lecture; you're hardly any older than me!"

"But I'm the head girl's fag" said Flo, firmly, having promoted herself to this position without consulting the Head Girl. "And look here, my brother and I got some poor advice before we came to school – or rather, we misunderstood advice – and we tried to sneak people up and if Snape hadn't been so brilliant and found out why we did it we'd have been pretty miserable 'cos everyone would have despised us! So you see, I KNOW!"

Eve tossed her head.

"Well the sixth will suffer then" she said.

"I 'spect" said Flo, with a wisdom she had learned from Jade's homilies "The sixth would rather suffer and mete out punishment later than have a sneak in the first."

Jade said to Flo later,

"I overheard you handling the Cherrytree girl; thank you, it was nicely done. And brave of you to admit to your own misunderstandings to try to help her"

Flo glowed.

"I do hope she got the idea" she said.

Jade sighed.

"I may wrong the child; I hope I do; but she seems more, well, calculating than you and Fred were. I think she'll conform to what is 'done' simply to get as far as possible! I wish you'll keep a friendly eye on her for me; not spying but just to check if you think she's out to do something silly just to get noticed! You're a whole year older now, and old enough to know that a lower school kid can drop a very unofficial word to the wise without it being sneaking; with veiled reference, like the comment say, about avoiding a particular doorway where a deadfall is rigged. Or to say 'Eve could bear a little watching, Jade'; without detail you see, you're letting us know that something's amiss without being a sneak. For things that either you want to save us from – like a deadfall – or to alert to REAL problems. The daft shenanigans of the Hallow Hellibore boys and cronies are normal; but if you thought a kid was being bullied or stealing… do you see?"

Flo nodded.

"I guess it's hard being a prefect" she said "You have to be one of us AND one of the teachers both at once and know when to be which."

"My good kid!" Jade was startled. "If you can see that this clearly at your age I can see you being head girl one day! You'll do!"

It only went to increase the hero worship and determination to be under foot helping; but Jade sighed and put up with it.

Flo was well worth bringing on there.

The mischief involved became apparent when the sixth form, who were taking tea in their common room with Madam Krait Malfoy as a guest, bit into their apple pies.

The howls of outrage were muffled with gagging and demands for water, for they had been liberally spiced with cayenne pepper.

The pandemonium subsided at last.

Jade clicked her fingers for a house elf.

"Please ask Mr Bellamy Hallow Hellibore and such of his associates as have a guilty conscience to attend the sixth form common room" she said.

BaHH, Reinulf, Arbrek and Bathsheba duly turned up looking half scared and half amused.

"Did I guess correctly about the authors of the apple pie spicing?" Jade demanded.

"Er yes, Snape" said BaHH. "Cor I wish we could have seen it!"

"Ah, you like watching people in pain?" said Jade with some scorn. "That spicing went into the level that some of those of us who have chanting classes tomorrow will be unable to perform. I had barely nibbled mine; I was fortunate. That moves into the realms of interfering with the lessons of others; which is no jape but a low meanness. It is also interfering with the staff; as was the mouthful Madam Malfoy had. It is ALSO interfering with the servants; because the elves prepared these pies and seeing them cause us distress, had they not had the compulsions to self punish broken by OUR chanting efforts in England they might well have hurt themselves because the little masters and mistresses were hurt by their food. Orders will be issued that they do not blame themselves or they might yet. Or would it amuse you to think of them burning themselves deliberately to atone?"

BaHH went pale.

The others were sobbing.

"I – I didn't think of that" he said in a small voice.

"No laddie; and therein lies the problem. I have nothing against pranks and japes; so long as you THINK" said Jade. "In Durmstrang the elves would be ordered to punish themselves for not knowing that the food had been doctored. The sorts of things that elves do is to bang their heads on walls until they knock themselves unconscious; or run hot irons over their hands; or poke sharp things into their flesh. Which is WHY those of us that did it took on the eight-hour chant. But you, I'm afraid, shall also decide if you deserve to self punish for this; if you are straight kids and honest, you shall have a mouthful each to see for yourself what it was like. Your dishes are here if you care to join us for desert."

Put like that, none of them would back out of it.

They each struggled through the generous mouthful.

"Run and drink plenty" said Jade "And next time have a little sense!"

The culprits fled thankfully to drink as much water as they could!

When they had recovered the four culprits wrote a formal apology to Madam Malfoy and also went to apologise to the elves in the kitchen; none of which Jade had asked for but which pleased her mightily when she found out.

"Your brother will do" she said to Angelica.

Angelica sighed and laughed.

"Doctoring our pies was one thing, but cayenne?" she said.

"Yes, if it had been soap, say, or mustard I might even have advised a dignified silence on the whole business so they were left wondering if we even ate them" said Jade. "Or even a pinch of cayenne just for the flavour. There was enough ruddy pepper in those pies to use as a muggle anti-mugging weapon! You don't think I was harsh do you to make them chew, swallow and all?"

"After your mum got a mouthful? I'd say not! I mean, supposed she'd been pregnant again and it upset the baby?"

"Well it shouldn't have, but gagging and heaving's never good in a bad pregnancy….and she's had a few. Usually when she's carrying a boy" said Jade. "I hadn't thought of that. Still, they were chastened enough. And very straight about the whole business. Even idiotic stuff like that is forgivable enough in a child straight enough to own up and take what's due. But oh dear! I fear BaHH has an even more highly developed imagination than AHHa! Drop them a hint, Angie dear, that they should spend their time looking for the secret passages; it'll keep them out of mischief and maybe they'll even find some I don't know about!"

Angelica laughed.

"All right, I will" she said.

So far as secret passages were concerned, the Prowling Marauders were now introducing the two younger groups of Marauders to those they already knew about; the ones that Severus had installed and that included the secret room; and the nature and limitations of a fidelius charm was impressed upon them; and the hollow stair centre that the Prowling Marauders had discovered that led to whole underground complexes and the limestone caverns that riddled the mountain.

"And if you find any more, you are honour bound to tell other marauders; but if you want to explore them first and present a fait accompli, that's all good" said Jade. "The limestone passages will take generations of Marauders to map; and we'll show you how to make charmed maps and part of your Marauding duties will be to help us map them."

They nodded solemnly; that was a duty that would be no hardship!

Secret passages were the essence of Marauding; and that they were learning a significant amount of Geomancy did not occur to them because learning things for mischief is not the chore that learning the self same things for a teacher is!

There was much to learn; how to use the bloodsong to contact each other, by specifically attuning to one special person or as a general call to aid; how to block people out of your feelings – as Jade said, it didn't affect them yet, but one day they might not want all the group being privy to their feelings while they were snogging; and to protect the children born to the group from pain or distress.

"Lilith is a bit of a law unto herself" said Jade "She's a remarkable child, the first born blooded, and she has fairly non standard talents. We try to squash her gently whilst taking her sufficiently seriously; because she DOES know more than a kid of not quite nine ought to. I was bad enough at her age; but Lilith's even more so. She'll eavesdrop just because she can because she's convinced she shouldn't be left out because she feels old enough to help properly. And I'd not say she isn't right at that, so don't laugh at her and tell her she's a silly kid if she tries to join in; tell her instead that her dad prefers her to form her own group of marauders in her own time not tag on with others. I really think she ought to go early to Hogwarts; she's ready already. And if she tells you something seriously she probably knows what she's talking about; just accept that, okay?"

They nodded.

"It must be trying having a genius for a kid sister" said AHHa.

"Trying? N…no, not really" said Jade "A bit WEARING sometimes; she has a belief in her capabilities that is just a little exaggerated; not the actual performance of magic, but the ability to handle it. There's a difference between knowing how to cast the entrail expelling curse and handling what that looks like when you've done it. Trust me on this. I've had Ginny Weasley – who was a big girl of nearly sixteen at the time – sobbing after she'd done it to a Deatheater. The group tries to make sure that nobody under seventeen has to kill anyone; not by wand anyway. Shooting werewolves that are attacking doesn't count. It's self defence then. And even that's hard to handle; because outside of their furry little problem they may be perfectly ordinary decent fellows with hopes, aspirations and with no idea that they're attacking schoolkids. Odessa isn't particular about telling their troops things that might cause them moral qualms. Better not to confuse them with facts – for the Greater Good. Remember that phrase. It's a mantra of theirs. And the poor fools who follow them believe it. Not everyone who belongs to Odessa is evil or a dark wizard; some are merely misguided. Ask Wulf; HE believed that Odessa would protect werewolves and find them, ultimately, some lands of their own where they might roam unmolested and never interact with other humans, never risk harming anyone. And he is intelligent; but he was just the same age or a little older than you lot when he became a werewolf, thirteen years old; and he was told every day how lucky he was to be looked after by Odessa. Frightened, terribly hurt – it's where he got his scar – what was he to believe? The ones who took him in after he was thrown out of Durmstrang of course. Durmstrang is not run by Odessa; but in many ways it might as well be. The headmistress is a sympathiser; their last couple of teachers of the Dark Arts – they don't learn defence against only the arts themselves – have been Odessa agents. It is a forbidding place, and bullying is I believe rife; the strong survive and rise, the weak go to the wall. It is a place where personal achievement is encouraged and co-operation discouraged. I have had this from those who have been there; the boy who defected at the last Triwizard, and Viktor Krumm who survived by being good at Quidditch. Viktor is an honorary marauder. He has also taught there between fixtures to bring us intelligence; he is a great man. Sorry, that's all a bit off topic from keeping an eye on Lilith; but she wants to do her bit and she's not old enough to handle it. That's all I'm saying. Head her off at the pass or something."

The muggle marauders, who picked up the cultural reference giggled.

The First Peak Marauders would need to see a few more films in the MSHG to be au fait with Western Film references.

But they would learn.

As they would all also learn to fire rifles and handle automatic weapons; learn how to tape a wand so that the slightest movement of the hand could shift weapon from mundane to magical; learn to take up positions with the swift, silent efficiency that the MSHG of Hogwarts managed it.

It was sobering to think of the responsibility they had taken on; but then there were secret passages and midnight cups of cocoa in secret rooms.

And a friendship more profound and lasting than they could have ever believed possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Engelram managed to get himself into trouble almost immediately.

He had never been away from home before and had been used to being taken care of in all particulars, never expected to tidy his own room or care for his own things. Fabian had showed the boys how to unpack and put their clothes away neatly; and what basket to use for laundry and whence to collect clean clothes.

Engelram was used to just throwing his pyjamas on the floor to be dealt with by the family elf; and was soon out of clean clothes for failing to collect them from the clean basket. And when he finally did, shouted at by Reinulf who complained – justly enough – that the other boy's clothes were taking up the room that should be spread between them for not emptying his clean kit out daily – Engelram just collected his own clothes and stuffed them any old how in the drawers.

He received demerits for looking horribly crumpled of course; for whilst nobody expected little boys to stay neat for long, coming to breakfast looking like you had slept in your clothes was NOT acceptable, as Madam Malfoy said.

The end of the week also saw the first losing thirty seven points for dormitory tidiness; as Severus pointed out, a record to date.

"Someone must be working very hard in the…ah, the boys' first year dorm to make it untidy" he said "And if you are not tidy with your personal belongings, how can you expect the elves to clean? There is also one bed consistently unmade; and the elves have rightly complained. You first year boys have one more week to make a significant improvement or you'll find yourselves with rooms uncleaned and doing your own laundry. And I shall be making spot checks and any extraneous clothing lying about will be confiscated into lost property. You have been warned. Untidiness is nothing but laziness and bad manners; and it is not as though you were babies of six to need to be cleaned up after."

"Daddy, I tan tlear up mine own fings and I isn't five yet!" said Severus Neville from the infant table.

"Well old man, you surely can shame someone in the first then" said Severus.

"Not that he's awf'ly good at putting things away NEATLY yet" said Richard, two years older than small Severus.

"Boys AREN't as good" said Iris, Sirri's daughter, six and a half years old.

Richard poked her and Lilith, who considered herself to be in charge of the table, absently dropped _petrificus totalis_ on both of them for ten seconds to remind them to behave at breakfast.

The rest of the boys of the first had words with Engelram.

He was given to understand, very clearly, that if they were going to be penalised for his misdeeds he WAS going to suffer for them.

He improved; somewhat.

But the habit of just dropping things on the floor was so ingrained that he could not break himself of it; and truth to tell, did not see why he should. Was that not what the elves were for, after all?

That the rest of the room was tidy was apparent; and Sirri came to see the boy.

"Young Langstaff, you are a disgrace!" she said "Look at the dirty linen strewed about…. You haven't even bothered to put that in the dirty laundry basket! What sort of hovel were you dragged up in to be so filthy in your habits?"

"Don't even start, elf!" said Langstaffe "In MY home the house elf isn't lazy, and can manage to do its job properly; as you ought to here! OOW!" as he was hoisted into the air and dangled as a giant woodlouse.

"You are a nasty, racist little creep and on the subject of lazy, when the elves who work in this castle have more than enough to do without pandering to the vagaries of a lazy, dirty little boy you cannot speak!" said Sirri "You do NOT talk to me, the chatelaine of this castle, like that; I will expect an apology from you when I choose to release you. You have no manners at all to speak so to a member of staff! And I am told you make faces at the prefect Miss Gan Konal too; you are racist, rude, ill-conditioned and not fit to be with decent boys! Your kit will be moved to a single room; and if you keep it tidy, it will be cleaned. And if not, not. The rules are that you do your bit; and the servants do theirs. We do not tolerate the manners of the gutter here at Prince Peak Academy whatever you may have expected to find at Hellibores; though I must say, the boys we have had who transferred were well enough mannered. You and your parents must be very vulgar creatures indeed if you have such habits. I will return in an hour; I suggest you reflect on your deficiencies."

Engelram was furious.

To be turned into this horrid creature by a SERVANT was the outside of enough!

And he had to watch the elves removing all his clothes and heard them talking, one being told not to fold his stuff neatly but to leave it in his new room in the state he had left it in here since if the dirty little boy liked to live in squalor he should do so until he learned to be civilised; and they speculated on whether he was some foundling from a gutter that Professor Snape had taken on from the kindness of his heart that he should be such a filthy object.

One of them actually asked if the boy knew how to use the bathroom or would they find a smell in the corner. How DARE they compare him to such? Engelram would have wept with rage and embarrassment if only woodlice had tear ducts.

Engelram refused to apologise to Sirri; he said he owed no apology to a servant.

Sirri regarded him coldly.

"I think that not only do you fail to understand my position, you fail to understand the common usages of courtesy such that any properly reared person has towards servants" she said "Rudeness to servants is the sign of a low mind and vulgar antecedents. The sign of such as the Parkinsons and others at whom servants commonly snigger. You make yourself a laughing stock to the servants, Langstaffe by such behaviour. If you will not apologise you will spend your leisure in detention until you do."

"Will I hell! I shan't come!" said Engelram.

"Then I will fetch you" said Sirri.

He stared.

"You wouldn't dare! I'd complain to Professor Snape!"

"And my husband will back my discipline of you, you naughty little boy. Indeed he is likely to punish you the more for your rudeness and insubordination. And for that piece of impertinence you will find that I shall now order the elves to withdraw good will. We are required to feed you in a nourishing fashion at school; you do not require treats. Now as it is still an hour of leisure before your bedtime, you will come to the detention room."

He stared in horror. Her HUSBAND? Surely not?

"You will not try to actually DRAG me surely?" he sneered.

"You refuse to come?"

"I do."

Sirri shrugged; grasped him by the arm; and apparated to the detention room.

"You may write 'I must not be a rude little racist'" she said.

"I will not" he plumped himself down in a chair; and squealed as he crashed to the floor as it disappeared from under him; and all other furniture in the room also vanished.

"Then I will not feel obliged to provide anything for your comfort" said Sirri. "Are you DETERMINED to make yourself miserable by this stubborn defiance? What is wrong with you, boy?"

"There's nothing wrong with me; it's what's wrong with YOU! I don't believe you are married to Professor Snape, you're a jumped up servant! I ORDER you to punish yourself!"

Sirri regarded him narrowly.

"I am not a slave, fool, had you not noticed? I am clad. And besides, if I were, YOU have no authority to order such punishment to any of the school elves. And any one who would wish to is not suitable for decent, English schools. You may stay here while I consult with my husband; I think it may be better if you transfer to Durmstrang. He will be chary about keeping any boy with such a cruel and vicious streak as would order elves to self punishment. And be sure he will warn both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Hellibore about your nastiness."

Sirri left, locking the boy in.

Severus came to talk to the boy.

"Mr Langstaffe, I appreciate that embarrassment over getting into trouble because you are ignorant about how to keep your things may have made you speak hastily and more rudely than you intended to my wife when she chided you" he said "And if you apologise right away and promise to try to do better we can draw a line under this unfortunate episode. Your stubborn defiance seems to me to be utterly illogical and rather silly; it is easy to get locked into a path of defiance. Now is your chance to step OFF that foolish path and apologise like a man."

"But I don't understand why I SHOULD apologise!" said Engelram "Servants aren't supposed to order people about!"

"Would you be rude to me? Or to Professor Malfoy? Or Professor Granger?"

"Of course not sir!"

"And yet you find it acceptable to be defiant and rude to one who, in the castle hierarchy, is on a par with a professor? Madam Sirri Snape RUNS this castle; without her there is no school. She orders the servants and buys in provisions, sees that the fires are lit; decides the healthy menus to keep you all fit, bullies the caretaker and handyman into seeing that all is in order. She IS the castle. And even so, if you were talking to a servant, one of the house elves say, do you feel such a poor weed of a person that you have to forget common courtesy and push those socially below you about to feel better? Only those who wish to display their ill breeding are so rude; Lucius Malfoy would never dream of being rude to his elves; save when jesting with old retainers where, as with friends, things may be said that give no offence. And failing to pick up your clothes is a form of rudeness. Perhaps in your house with only one child there is time for your house elf to tidy up behind you; there are more than seventy children in this school. Really, you can take your choice; have your clothes picked up for you or be fed and have your clothes washed. I would think that you would prefer to have food at least; certainly most would. We don't have rules for the sake of having rules; but to make it easier for all concerned, especially the students. You have behaved very badly; and I fancy that you have never been taught how to behave well. In short, you are spoilt. You have two choices, Mr Langstaffe; to apologise and to try to learn how to be a decent young gentleman; or to decide that you have no cause to improve and in that case I should have to ask your parents to withdraw you. We cannot have the education of the others disrupted by you nasty manners."

Engelram flushed.

"You make it sound childish" he said sulkily.

"Isn't it?" said Severus "Stamping your foot, effectively, and saying 'shan't'? refusing to compromise like a reasonable youth? I have come across worse manners; generally amongst the lower class of muggles who have been taught no better. And even among the poorest muggles there are plenty who can mange manners, it is only the semi criminal classes who are so rude as you."

Engelram paled, shocked.

"But – but father says one must exert oneself to show others that one is better!"

"Well I believe I have exerted myself to show that I am at least stronger than most; and you might say better in being prepared to do what is right when others skulked pusillanimously in their safe homes. That is how I gained the zig-zag scar; AS if you would but notice it did Sirri; who fought Voldemort; for YOUR safety, boy. We did NOT take the cruciatus curse to have a rude little boy trying to behave as though he was Volde-ruddy-mort!" Severus was getting irritable.

"I – I don't behave like Voldemort!" he cried "Please I don't!"

"Yes you do" said Severus, glad he might have actually got a breakthrough "Voldemort – or to give him his proper name, Tom Riddle – thought the whole world was there for his convenience; but was such an inadequate that he had to be rude to his underlings and punish them to make himself feel big. You felt small over being ticked off; so you wanted to make yourself feel bigger by ordering an elf to punish herself. Which is not even as much moral courage as taking the punishment on yourself! Tom Riddle wanted to look big; and only succeeded in making himself utterly hated and despised; and when Draco Malfoy started his Convolvumort broadcasts, a laughing stock. Because he exposed truths about Riddle. I suspect that your father hopes to be invited to the sorts of parties the Malfoys and Longbottoms go to; and the Princes and Snapes and Weasleys and Potters, the Boneses, the MacMillans, the Corbins – though personally I avoid Corbins – and some Hellibores and Hallows. And he has the mistaken idea that the more he throws his weight around the bigger he is going to look. I dislike criticising a chap's father; but I can't see where else you might have learned such mistaken attitudes. I can help you to grow up a decent youth who IS likely to get invited to the right parties; but only if you will leave off the posturing, unlearn, and see life as it is."

"I don't want to be like Voldemort" said Engelram, sufficiently shaken out of his arrogance to actually sound plaintive.

"Good; then go to Sirri now and apologise. And by the by, let me tell you that young Hallow-Hellibore and his friends did not HAVE to be told to go and apologise to the elves for inconveniencing them by interfering with their cooking when they half poisoned the sixth with a rather…. Overdone…..prank. they went spontaneously because Bellamy, Reinulf and Arbrek ARE gentlemen and Bathsheba – we're GOING to have to shorten that – is a lady."

Engelram looked rather abashed.

Having a Goblin and a German boy declared gentlemen where he was not was very shaming.

He went and apologised rather hesitantly to Sirri.

She regarded him.

"Very well, Mr Langstaffe; we shall start again" she said. "I think you should stay in your single room while you learn how to be tidy. I will assign an elf to TEACH you how to tidy up; NOT to tidy up after you, but to show YOU how to care for your own things. If you fail to speak politely to the elf I send, he or she will stop helping; it is as simple as that. I think a gentleman would also apologise to his dormitory mates for causing them trouble, don't you?"

"I – I suppose so" said Engelram.

The other boys took his apology quietly.

BaHH nodded.

"Okay, it's big enough of you to do that; and I must say I'm glad you've stopped being a prize prune" he said.

Engelram was arrogant by nature; but he had incentive not to be looked down on by the Head.

The head was rather fine, and terrible, and someone in the Wizarding world. And Engelram was appalled to be compared by such a man to Voldemort.

He was assigned one of Erich's elves to help him; a grizzled old elf called Fritti who had seen much and had punished himself much over his feelings when the master had killed Master Erich's mother. Now he was free to feel as he would; and he spoke of his history to the boy as he showed him how to sort his clothes.

Engelram was appalled that any man should kill his wife just because there was a muggle in her ancestry four or five generations before; and Fritti spoke gently of the thin end of the wedge, and the evils of blood snobbery and its consequences and how mighty wizards like Master Erich, Professor Von Strang that was, and Professor Snape and Mr Lucius Malfoy had made a great ritual and half killed themselves doing it so that the version of the imperious curse that was in all elves to make them punish themselves was removed.

And from the gentle old elf Engelram learned much that built on Severus' wrath.

And on top of that, Albus wanted an urgent talk by floo about Victor Crabbe, whom he had expelled last year; on account of having had to send his little brother to St Mungo's for being such a little monster that he could scarcely be considered sane.

Severus froze.

"I came across a book" he said "I'll place the memories of it into the Penseive and send Belloc directly to St Mungo's to see if knowledge of it will help them work on the Crabbe boy." He explained.

Dumbledore was horrified.

"Thank you, Severus, such a thing might truly be the root cause" he said. "But about Victor; he got a girl pregnant and was something of a user. But he is heartily ashamed because Connie had called him a spoilt brat, like his brother; and he has had a most unhappy time of it, the failed brother with the sadistic yet to their parents perfect brother around… I told him in paraphrase of how you described him that you thought he had more potential than he chose to show to the world. He was no end gratified that you thought there was more to him you know."

"I didn't exactly put it that way…. I think I waxed irritable that he was rather like an even more truculent Harry. What do you want, Albus?" demanded Severus.

"I want you to take him into your fifth – a year below his age – to do OWLs with you and give him a second chance" said Dumbledore.

"Well, of all the cheek! No, I suppose you can't have him back yourself if the poor girl he deflowered is still in school; tell him I'll have him if he writes her an apology for behaving so badly and only if. I trust the boy to do it without being checked on; he's never lied on serious issues, and I suspect he never saw his flirtations as lies. I'll give him the chance – as you believe in him, Albus. I believe in your beliefs."

"Thank you Severus; I was sure I could rely on you" said Dumbledore.

Severus told those who had known Crabbe at Hogwarts what was happening; and as he had hoped they pledged support to him to help the boy.

Jade, as Head Girl, met Victor at the Zurich station.

"Hello Crabbe" she said

"Hello Snape" he said. "I went off the rails; I guess you know?"

Jade nodded.

"Dad spoke to all of us that knew you; to give you a second chance. Dad believes in second chances; Dumbledore gave him one once you see."

"Oh!" said Victor "That's hard to picture; your dad is so upright and moral and – well, I always found it easier to behave with him in charge in Slytherin."

"Well, poor Great Aunt Connie WAS used to teaching in a girl's school with a silly old moo for the head who wouldn't let her be the disciplinarian she longed to be" said Jade "I guess all that silly mooishness saps the will to be something wicked that this way comes a bit."

Victor managed a grin.

"HOW Mei Chang got away with that I don't know!" he said.

"Oh dad doesn't mind a good send up so long as it's apt and doesn't go too far…we actually got him singing Gilbert and Sullivan for us at the moonlight party we had last term. Gotta have something to laugh over with Odessa looming! I say, Victor, you're a useful duellist, will you forget to be a sulky ass and join the MSHG here? We could always do with competent wandsters….some of the girls when we first arrived were about as much use as – as muggles! They've pulled up, but they're a tad WET some of them still; sort of young ladies' academyish."

"Do you really want me? Is it really about fighting then? Professor Dumbledore advised me to join, he said I'd learn a lot of personal development."

"It's about a host of things; we share troubles, we test new spells, we run to keep fit – and those of us who are serious chanters are well glad of the extra stamina THAT gives I can tell you – and duel a bit; and we practice military precision so when Odessa attack next we just do our jobs and fight. Like we did against huorns when I was still at Hogwarts, and like the kids back at Hogwarts did against erklings and we've done against werewolves here; only we think they'll attack when some of us are at the Triwizard, I say, Victor you'll be in age; are you going for it?"

Victor shook his head.

"Out of my league; I haven't even got OWLs and I'm rusty besides. But I'll stand against what they are; because I reckon my darling baby brother would fit right in alongside!"

"Unfortunately I fear you're only too right. Can I ask a favour?"

"Ask away"

"There's a spoiled kid in the first; arrogant. Not I think naturally cruel; but taught wrong values, taught that throwing the weight about equates with being quality. Dad thinks he's got through to him, but as you're attuned to a small monster, if you'd keep half a watchful eye on small Engelram Langstaffe I'd be no end grateful."

"Langstaffe? Like that kid in the er, third now, friend of Bella Black? Young limb?"

"Yes; but apparently her father married beneath him and produced something as awful as Maud" said Jade "We have another Langstaffe, James, in lower sixth; he's Maude's brother and he won't look out for his cousin because he cordially detests the whole branch of the family. Only you're having a new start; and so is Engelram – and it's cruelty to children to saddle them with monickers like that in my opinion, at least Angel and Bellamy Hallow-Hellibore are amenable to nicknames – so I thought you might be kind enough to help him NOT to be like I hear your brother is. Though that may have a reason too" she added soberly "Dad found a book in Burke's shop; a children's book, that warps the personality. He wants to show you pictures in the Pensieve to see if you've ever seen anything like it. He burned the actual book; with children around it was too dangerous to keep."

"Yeah, and you've kid siblings too that you're fond of, haven't you Snape? I always envied you for that, that they'd run to you for cuddles and do what you said and stuff."

"Poor old Victor!" said Jade "I guess I could have noticed and been kinder to you; I don't THINK I was ever rotten to you?"

"Apart from occasionally giving me the benefit of Snapoid and wordy opinions" said Victor.

Jade gave a rueful grin.

"I'm afraid when they were passing round tolerance I got missed" she said. "Maybe I'll improve with keeping; Dad manages tolerant better these days. And he hates admitting a failure in a kid you see too."

Victor nodded.

"I'm just real glad that he's prepared to give me a chance; and I say, Snape thank YOU for being decenter than I expected."

Jade shrugged.

"Lots of people seek sex as a substitute for affection if they've a piss-poor home life. Muggles and wizarding folk both; and it don't work. And if you feel unempowered I guess you try to force your will on others. Once you realise you're not actually getting anywhere and are big enough to acknowledge you've messed up, y'know you become an admirable person. I admire you for having the balls to be aware of what you hosed up over and facing those of us that know you. I owe it to your cast iron ones to be decent; you never know, we might even end up friends."

"I'd like that. I know I'm not like the crowd you run with… marauders… but I've hated being lonely and ….and despised."

"Well, you certainly ain't that for coming back" said Jade. "I'm going to introduce you to Ulrich Grindler; the only other boy in the fifth, it really is a monstrous regiment of not-quite women! And silly as hens, most of them apart from Elsie who's a nice kid but an awful swot… I know, pots and cauldrons….but I reckon if you take Ulrich into your confidence he'll take you into his; and he's a good chap. Serious; but he has reason to be. Life hasn't treated him easily until recently."

"Thanks; I'll take your advice" said Victor.

Severus saw Victor before he was taken to settle in; and soon had the boy telling him even more than he had told Dumbledore, thanking Severus for believing that he could do better and swearing to try.

"When your parents don't reckon you'll amount to anything because the babe has more talent than you had at that age it's no end lowering" he said "I don't suppose you'll understand that."

"Believe it or not" said Severus "I do; though without the added complication of the spoiled brat. My parents….my mother is a witch and my father was a muggle. A big bully of a muggle. He despised me because I was slight and physically not strong. My mother despised me because once she'd fallen out of lust with my father she hated herself for being with a muggle and me for being a half breed. I had my head filled with nonsense about mud bloods and how I would have to work hard to amount to anything being only a half breed; and my father telling me I'd never be able to do a real honest job because I'd keel over. Not that he did any job, honest or otherwise as I recall" added Severus "So I DO know!"

"How did you overcome it sir?" asked Victor "If it's not an impertinent question."

"It is, but I don't think I mind it" said Severus "I – I learned love. My first love was a frustrated love since it was selfish as I knew nothing else; my second love, Krait Malfoy, gave me the knowledge that to someone I was important. But Victor; YOU are important to me. As your housemaster I let you down; else you had not gone off the rails. I should have dug deeper. But you were no real trouble; and I'm afraid I let you be while I worried about the Baddocks and Pritchards and Jackmans and Parkinsons. The nasty ones. As your headmaster I will try to make up for that failure; and my door is always open for you to talk. Though if you have nightmares and need to talk things out in the middle of the night – especially if I am enjoying relaxation with my wives – I may be snippy."

"Wives sir? You have more than one?"

"I have ended up with three wives. I don't make a secret of it; Sirri the elf, and Dione Parnassus are the others. It sort of happened that way" he shrugged. "Fighting Voldemort – and now Odessa – bonds can form that are deeper than any but marriage. Sometimes just acknowledging that is better than fighting it. As man to man I tell you that love – true love – is a selfless thing; and that if you are lucky enough to find it even once, you should try to fight to keep it. I am lucky to be loved by three women. And as they love each other as deeply it is the right thing. Love is important Victor; and you are old enough not to shy away from the word. I will try to know you well enough to give you at least some of the love you should have had from your father – because you need a father figure and you have been good enough to say that you admire me. That is a good start. You are effectively my ward; for I understand your parents are too caught up in the little monster – poor child! – that they have no time for you. I will be here. I will be as much a father to you as I can. You can stay with my family in the holidays; and I hope that too will help you overcome the wrongs that have been done you. Again, I am sorry I had not previously done more."

"Sir, I always felt you were the one stable constant in my life!" said Victor seriously. "I knew where I was with you…. If I may come to you with my troubles, even silly ones I should be very grateful; and even KNOWING I can come might mean I don't have to, if that makes sense."

"It makes perfect sense" said Severus "Now come to the pensieve my boy; your brother may be a monster but if there is a reason…"

"Yes, Jade told me about the book" said Victor "I guess it might be that as anything else; one hates hating a brother you know."

"Yes; brothers are supposed to be there to play with, to have look up to you – or to look up to – and to get into mischief with" said Severus softly "I have seen many brothers in my time; seen the healthy relationships and the sour ones; like my adopted son Romulus whose older brother was a big tough blonde deatheater type; and Rom slight, skinny, dark, hated by the parents… I have seen your viewpoint through the eyes of my son; save that he was the unwanted second son. And I see my children squabbling but amicably, and ready to stand side by side if anyone intrudes. Here"

He poured the silvery liquid into the pensieve.

Victor stood by Severus reading in the book, feeling the insidious traps and recognising them as Severus pointed them out.

"It is a very attractive and pretty thing" he said.

Severus was startled.

"You are young enough to feel its allure? I thought with you being sexually experienced you should be immune."

"I can pull away when you show me what is reality; but yes, sir, it has allure. A good word."

"Then we leave here now" said Severus pulling them both out of the memory. "I apologise for putting you at risk."

"Sir, no apology necessary! You made a reasonable assumption…. I feel urges to have the chance to look at it again but I also know that that would be foolish and wrong; and I think I have the strength of mind to resist the whispering in my brain that says I could sneak into your office and collect the bottle."

Severus looked horrified.

"That is a strong curse! Well, the memory will be gone from here within an hour; and when it returns I shall do the strongest curse-breaking chant on it I can before I replace it in my head. Ah, is the liquid screaming at that? I think it is. Be strong Victor; I believe you can be."

"If it has such an effect on me at my age, and understanding the thing is cursed" said Victor soberly "And such a thing DID fall into my brother's hands then I pity him sincerely; for a child would have no chance at all! I think it seems vaguely familiar; indeed I recall an attraction to a book that I reached for and Walter screamed and screamed and I was punished for trying to take my little brother's things. He was allowed to take and spoil MINE mind… I believe I have cleared my mind of any desire to see it again; anger over the spoiling of my kid brother is a good clean emotion to concentrate on."

"That is good; you see Victor, you HAVE strength!" said Severus. "And you have done well to recall the thing! I will put you into my chanting class as well; I suspect that learning to break such curses will be an ambition in you hmm?"

"Yes sir; I'm not a BAD arithmancer – if not in Jade's league!"

"Oh nobody's in Jade's league; she even makes Madam Granger's eyes glaze over at times and that takes some doing. And I'm afraid I take malicious pleasure in it because as Miss Granger she was the bane of my life in her untiring and encyclopaedic efficiency. I am very fond of Madam Granger Weasley but NOT when she tries to run me. And I never said that to a pupil; only to my ward."

"Uh, no sir" said Victor. "Oh sir, it's good to be back at school; and THANK you for being a father for me!"

"Tuh, boy, you're welcome!" said Severus.

Victor would be no trouble!

And Belloc took the memories to St Mungo's and the word of the boy's brother that he believed he had seen such a cursed book in the possession of the younger boy.

It was up to them to send in aurors to find it; and they would. And then to investigate how such a thing came to be in his possesion.

If the parents had bought it all unknowing then they would have to live with the guilt; but if it was a gift from a third party that would need to be investigated thoroughly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

David Fraser had spent long hours building a perfect replica of the early German helicopter that had featured in the film 'Where Eagles Dare'; and had firmly confunded muggle safety inspectors into giving him a licence for it. He had then enchanted it thoroughly to make up for any real deficiencies in its safety and made sure there was more room on the inside than appeared on the outside.

Helicopters were supposed to fly after all; and it would not therefore upset muggles the way coaches and flying horses were inclined to do. Or even flying Ford Anglias.

Magic was wonderful; all he needed to do to get unique parts was to get something close enough and transfigure it with an enchantment to make sure it was a permanent change. Ellie had helped with that, applying the Finnish principle of naming magic to the various parts for safety.

This helicopter was to take all the hopeful candidates to Durmstrang; and David had instructed Severus firmly in flying it; and had arranged for him to have an appropriate muggle flying licence in case of being stopped by some air authority. It did NOT have the level of quite ridiculous luxury that Lucius Malfoy had in his helicopter; David was never quite sure if he admired Lucius' sheer gall or if he disapproved of his sybaritic hedonism. And then, whenever he started disapproving of Lucius he reminded himself that it was the indoctrination of the hated orphanage that held that all luxury was sinful; and he sat back and enjoyed whatever luxury Lucius had laid on. It was not, after all, as if Lucius did not give an awful lot back to the community. Many poor families lived in relative luxury because of Lucius' application of the maxim of Henry Ford that the successful entrepreneur should make as much as possible for as little as possible whilst paying the best wages possible. Since taking over Warrington Springs Lucius had worked out that he could pay his workers eighty per cent more and still turn a profit on each spring without putting up his prices and had proceeded to do so.

Output had virtually doubled.

And David was in consultation with Lucius about jointly purchasing a small Helicopter manufactory to produce helicopters that could be enchanted to order on premises for the use of wealthy wizards and the ministry; or for effective wizarding taxi services for large families or groups of families to travel to, for example, Quidditch games or concerts. It made sense. Naturally Lucius would put up most of the money; but David would have knowhow to add to the business.

Lucius had his elegant fingers in many pies. He had recently got off the ground Wizarding Wireless Vision, a wizarding form of television; it was nothing as yet, but its launch was to be the televising of the Triwizard Competition to be shown at the other schools involved on large public viewing globes; and on a globe in Diagon Alley.

With the probability of sports events also being shown it was likely that plenty of wizards would want a viewing globe for his own home after that! There would be a licence fee of course; and the licence would also pay for the right to film matches, for the teams involved might expect to lose revenue on the gate if some viewers preferred to watch in the comfort of their own home; but it meant more people could feel involved with their team, if they were playing away and it might also mean less large scale migration of wizarding folk to hide from muggles and might mean that more matches could be permitted to be played. And could indeed be played at venues that were difficult for even wizards to get to, with only a few spectators in the flesh and viewed by globe for most. Which would be a boon to quidditch; something David heartily approved of. He might have to do more refereeing; but that was no hardship and Severus was tolerant of his time off to do his second job!

David grinned ruefully.

Doubtless his unwanted fan club at Prince Peak would want to watch any games he refereed when he was away!

The helicopter took off and David promptly set about checking the defences.

There were two major periods at which an attack from Odessa was expected with the headmaster of Prince Peak out of the way; overnight while the youths were depositing their names in the Goblet of Fire, and at the time when the champions were to be announced at the evening feast on the morrow, there being a full day round to permit them to get their names in. The whole school would want to watch the names being drawn; but some must be disappointed. David assigned himself to be one of them. Wulf of course would want to see if Jade was chosen; and Dione and Sirri as well as Krait were the girl's mothers. Erich was her brother. Hercule hardly knew Jade outside of Ancient Runes classes; and Lee saw little of her too, and Tony; so they should do duty during that period. It was the time David frankly expected to be the time of most danger; and he duly summoned and lectured the MSHG.

"Not all of you are going to feel able to fight" he said "And that's understood; the MSHG is about giving you the tools to fight personal battles more than being the school's defender. But I DO need to know who will."

"I will" said Victor.

"And we marauders" said AHHa. "We'll be under Senagra, yes?"

"Yes" said David.

Senagra had not gone with the rest of the older ones; and that she resented mightily. It was not that she anticipated being the champion; everyone expected it to be Jade or perhaps Lynx. But that she should not be accepted as a wand carrying witch was what Senagra bitterly resented.

She would do her bit instead defending her school.

"Please Professor Fraser" said Fred Visick "Flo and me aren't sure we could fight but could we fetch and carry and run errands?"

"That would be very useful" said David.

Besides, being in the heat of battle, even if not actively fighting, would blood them for another time.

Those of the sixth who had not felt it worth their while even trying to be champions were ready to champion the school; and Ulrich stood by his new friend Victor, as did Helga Von Strang of course. The rest of the fifth were the very hens Jade had scornfully called them and were not even in the MSHG.

The luminaries of the fourth declared their intent to stand firm; and apart from the Muggle Marauders in the third Milos, Leneli and Muriel, a new member of the MSHG this term nodded scared but determined. They and the second not of the First Peak Marauders should be in second line capacity as David told them, running errands and passing things. Tony Queach was designated chanter in chief to hold up the shield spell and Rosamund and Hillary who were also taking it to NEWT to back him up. They would be less danger to the defenders helping Tony than helping defend. Pamela Blackwood was solid enough but Rosamund and Hillary could be….well if one was kind one might say scatty. Esmerelda should have charge of overseeing the little ones running errands; she was no warrior but she was beloved of the smaller people and wanted to do her bit. The first of course were to stay inside whatever they might think; they might serve by helping carry hot drinks from the kitchen, which might not suit some of them – BaHH's group and Emil Villeneuve for example – but David told them firmly that being there, and being aware would blood them and let them see how much they could cope with another time and give them experience of the noise of battle.

He left Senagra explaining to Antti and Eve why anyone should want to attack the school. Sometimes he had enough of the terminally politically naïve.

Meanwhile the contenders arrived at Durmstrang, that dark, forbidding pile.

"Not exactly conducive to feeling like a home away from home, is it?" said Fabian.

"It helps to isolate and depress the inmates so they are more ready to accept indoctrination because that indoctrination gives them something that provides some manner of a sense of belonging" said Severus. "Broken, isolated children are easier to induce to accept the snares of false loyalty. Believe me, I know; Slytherin House used to be like that when I was at school when it was a recruiting ground for Deatheaters. Being invited into a gang, however much you hate the other members, is still something you jump at eagerly. The children here are either bullies or downtrodden in the main; very few manage to be something in between."

Jade shuddered.

Next year, under transfiguration to look typically Malfoy, she would be here as a pupil, spying.

She could pick up all she might on these visits; at least to find her way about the castle.

"Marauders close up" she said "We need a Marauders' map of this place; and to find any secret passages."

"We'll be stuck here a week" said Lynx, sniffing hard and already missing her baby who was being weaned early under the auspices of Mimette in the nursery "So there's not much else to do."

Jade slid a hand into Lynx's and squeezed it.

Lynx squeezed back. What was a week compared to most of a year that Jade must give up the baby that would come from the deep joining? At least Jade was ridiculously good at elf style apparation and using fey space and could visit briefly; but it would be hard for her! Lynx missed Leona so much already; and planned to make Apparated trips to see her during this long week if she could!

The Hogwarts crowd were already there, come in David's Catalina that lived on the Lake by the castle. Madam Bacsó was still greeting Dumbledore and his team and gazing in undisguised horror on the part goblin boy there. He must be Mortimer Bane, in some respects also representing the free school from which he had transferred; Lynx knew him, as Hawke's ward, and he had already held Leona.

They had blooded him them; Jade felt him, his bloodsong meshing with hers, his affection for Mei Chang brotherly; he was a Marauder already! Jade was glad. He looked intelligent and eager and full of resolve; and he felt a true brother. She mouthed,

"What house?" to him.

"Slytherin!" he mouthed back; and she grinned and gave him a 'thumb's up'.

Company for Leo; that was nice.

There were nine each from Hogwarts and Durmstrang; the prince Peak contenders were eight in number having Jade, Lynx, Fabian, Jem, Erwin, Seagh, Angelica and Sylvia along; the ones Severus thought stood a chance. The Durmstrangers were not all German, there were slavs among them too; but most had the same hard look as one associated with their school. As most of them were girls this was particularly unattractive. One flaxen haired girl of obvious Germanic descent looked more self-contained than hard; and Jade looked on her with more interest. She was looking however quite horrified – even nauseated – at Mortimer Bane's presence.

"Professor Bacsó" said the flaxen haired girl clearly "Must we associate with the children of rapists?"

"Your young protégé appears to have some odd idée fixée Agata" said Dumbeldore "Young lady, would you care to explain?"

"Well there is a boy of part goblin blood; how can that be unless his unfortunate mother was raped?" she said.

"My parents were married" said Mortimer "My father, who was human, was good looking enough to attract my half-blood mother, he was not as ugly as many pure bred humans are."

The Hogwarts and Prince Peak contingents laughed. NICE one, Mortimer, thought Jade!

The girl blinked.

"Excuse me? Your FATHER was the human? I mistake" she said. She looked confused.

"Where I live people live together as people" said Mortimer loudly and firmly.

"I am sure that you are happy in whatever …..place…..you come from young man, but we have not the time here to discuss such things" said Madam Bacsó.

Jade thought her a perfect bitch.

Mortimer made her a beautiful bow as Hawke had coached him for Hogwarts.

"Madam" he said with a flourish.

Bacsó burned.

"Dumbledore are you going to permit this – boy – to mock me?"

Dumbledore looked surprised.

"Mock, Agata? He treats you as he would the head of his own school; QUITE properly. I should expect him to acquiesce to a command of mine in a like manner" he said.

Jade felt an unholy glee. They should defeat the Durmstrangers on the courtesy stakes as well as by every other means, by showing how beautifully mannerly English children might be and how deep was their respect to their elders. She dropped a deep and beautiful curtsey to Dumbledore.

"You recall, Professor Dumbledore, there were few manners displayed from certain contingents in the last Triwizard; Madam Bacsó is not accustomed to proper respect being granted her" she said.

"Ah yes indeed" said Dumbledore. He did not QUITE twinkle at Jade but it was close.

The powder blue carriage drawn by abraxans arrived; and Madam Maxime cried in delight as she alighted,

"Prrofessor Dumblydore 'ow good to see you! Ah and ze good professor Snape 'oo give my nephew a job 'e enjoy!"

Both Headmasters bowed to her and the Hogwarts and Prince Peak contingents bowed and curtseyed as appropriate as she turned to beam upon them.

"Ees it true my good Eengleesh friends zat we have also the 'Ellibore's academy – ah bah, what a name! – to compete?" she demanded "Zat old fool Engelbert 'Ellibore, 'e contact me and ask zat I not mind. Ah bah, I do not mind, 'is boys are as nozzing!"

"Several parents who sent their children to the two separate schools ARE starting to send their sons to me too" murmured Severus.

"Eh bien, when I know 'oo is in charge of what was zat silly creature's girls' academy, I tell my children zat zey must be on zere heels – no, toes – for Professor Snape, 'e is formidable!" she said.

"Hellibore's contacted us all rather at the last minute to request inclusion" said Dumbledore "And we pointed out that the design of the tasks had already been assigned. He seemed happy with that, so we made no objection; if Agata has made no objection either then I should think that five schools will take part. But come, let our young people meet; they may as well mingle while we await Englebert."

If Severus muttered something about 'Engelbert the terminally unready' it was not an audible comment. Jade caught his eye and he firmly looked away from her.

The proportions of boys and girls of the French school's would-be champions were reversed from those of Durmstrang; there being seven boys and but two girls. Jade thought they represented western Europe fairly well; some of Anglo-Saxon origin might be Belgian or Dutch or those who did not relish Durmstrang; two darker boys might be Italian or Romanian; and with one having faintly slavic features it was likely he was Romanian or maybe Balkan. The groups were exchanging names when another flying carriage turned up.

"Ah, Englebert has arrived" Dumbledore rubbed his hands together.

"Try not to rag him too much Albus; I wouldn't say he cheats" said Severus dryly "But he's not gracious in defeat and he tries to be overbearing at any kid he thinks he can bully. I'm glad it's the sports ministries doing the marking not him; because if my Jade is our champion I believe he would mark her zero just because she can do magic he cannot."

Jade gloated gently. Hellibore was an old fool.

Dumbledore nodded at Jade's father's comment.

"Well I shan't be disposed to be uncivil, Severus" he said.

"hmmmph" said Severus.

The tall imposing wizard that was Engelbert Hellibore – one had to admit he looked the part with long flowing white locks and beard – was accompanied by half a dozen young wizards.

Jade was busy explaining to Mortimer and Mei,

"Two of them are brothers of one of our girls, one upper one lower sixth, Cenric and Miles Grant, our Emily's in the fourth and she's a tomboy to keep up with the boys; and Miles has been reading her text books so he might know a thing or two. There's another brother, Anastasius Brewer, Silvina's a wart and she's nothing special and the one that looks like her is the one that looks like a stuck up git ignoring an ice water enema."

Mei giggled at Jade's description of the supercilious expression of the boy.

"The good looking one is my cousin-in-law Quirinius" volunteered Angelica "He's stepmama's nephew. He's a bit of a nosy parker and reckons he knows it all. Mind you he did know enough to say someone else ought to look at my back; he's curious about you, Jade, I told him YOU fixed it. He didn't feel able to try himself!"

"Well I have been doing transfigurations for rather a long time" said Jade calmly. "Since I was about eight, I think. It's my thing."

"Quirinius reckons that transfigurations is his thing" said Angelica.

Lynx giggled.

"Yes but there aren't many people in the same class as Jade" she said. "D'you reckon you'll win it, or Lionel, Jade?"

Jade considered.

"Wouldn't like to say" she said "I have no formal comparative magic if that comes into anything, though I've picked up a bit; if there's one where we need potioneering or can use it as an option reckon I'm downhill all the way. Good planner, though, Lionel Dell; meticulous. Methodical."

"Hey, what about my chances of being chosen?" demanded Mei. "And Lynx or Fabian?"

"Isn't going to happen" Lynx shook her black curls "I'd LOVE it to be me, but Jade knows things I never knew there were to know. And Mei, my poppet, you on Lionel in a duel might be one thing; but like she says he has order and method and uses er, ze leetle grey cells."

"Lionel has a touch of brilliance" said Jade. "He'll go far. I have a lot of respect for Lionel Dell."

"The Hellibores no chance then?" asked Mortimer.

"Huh, they challenged us to quidditch because they wanted to laugh at girls in quidditch gowns; didn't lay on changing rooms OR refreshments until we asked pointedly where both were, tried to put us down, one tried to jinx me and the seeker wondered at us having a girl as seeker since girls have no sense of direction" she grinned savagely "I left him head down in the mud after I pulled the Wronski feint and an Immelmann turn on him to grab the snitch. Terrible oiks about losing too, really I'd expect better from a bunch of east end muggles!"

Dumbledore and Hellibore were greeting each other with false heartiness. Jade hid a smile, and watched Dumbledore in order to learn.

"So glad you feel you can come out of obscurity now we killed Voldemort!" said Dumbledore cheerily "Excellent that you feel more able to join the modern fight against dark wizards!"

"Er…. What modern fight against dark wizards?" said Hellibore looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Oh, Odessa, old man; Gellert Grindelwald's grandson and his silliness" said Dumbledore "Agata will tell you, she had a little trouble with an agent planted on her; silly fool got the idea I'd lost my powers and decided – how like such cowards as these supremacists often are – to challenge me when it was then, as he thought, safe! Still, these little matters are sent to keep up our defences and keep us young, hmm?" he beamed.

Several Durmstrangers glowered.

Severus leaned over the blood group.

"Their new deputy is the girl who duelled Harry in the duelling competition" he muttered.

Jade looked startled.

"The one that threw Avada Kedavra? Crumbs! She'll be Odessa then; are you going to stick your eyes down her brain, dad?"

"Jade! WHAT a way to refer to legilimensy…..pest that you are" he added laughing.

The young people circulated a little; and then it was time to go in to supper.

The Great Hall was imposing but sombre; the plain grey stone of the supporting pillars uncompromising and the architecture heavy and overpowering. The house elves passing out food were rarely seen, they were expected to be largely invisible unless summoned to bring anything, and they were ill clad in rags and downtrodden looking. Jade ground her teeth; but she knew she had to warn the others not to do anything that would make the elves resent their owners too much.

"DON'T be nice to them, don't say anything" she said urgently to both her own people and the Hogwarts crowd "They'd have to punish themselves for wishing THEIR pupils were nice to them. There's still a compulsion here remember."

The majority of the visitors – Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Prince Peak – leaped to their feet as the assorted professors came in. Some of the Durmstrangers sniggered rudely.

"Whatever low types does this place take that they not rise for their Teachers?" said Jade in fluent German "Poor Madam Bacsó she must be most ashamed of her so rude pupils, there cannot be any good blood left in Eastern Europe at all that such guttersnipes make up the majority."

It was not spoken loudly; but it did not have to be.

Every German heard it clearly enough, though as though it was just at the edge of hearing. So too did Madam Bacsó; who was grinding her teeth that the foreigners thought her pupils so low; and indeed that she had received more courtesy from a blasted part goblin than from her own pupils!

The boys from Hellibore's gaped.

Hellibore was eyeing the silent rising of the Hogwarts and Prince Peak students with deep thought in his eyes.

Jade caught her father's eye, and Lionel's too, laughing silently.

It would not be long before that was a custom at Hellibore's!

Severus, Jade, Seagh, Lynx and Fabian glided into an unused turret room near where they had all been found accommodation to blood with Mortimer.

"And then Ah'll be awa' tae stick ma snoutie intae ither folk's business" said Seagh.

"Remember you can use the mirror to communicate with Hogwarts if need be" said Jade.

"whisht, quicker tae go!" said Seagh. "It'll aye be weel afther dark that they attack, I'm thinking. And likely mair tai be when we're tied up on the morro' when the champions is being announced."

"See if you can find out if SHE's Gerhardt's agent" said Jade.

"Och, and will ye no' teach me tae use a wand next?" said Seagh with heavy sarcasm , and stepped as though through a filmy veil into – somewhere else.

Jade blew a raspberry at her brother; because she loved him even when he was irritatingly cocky.

An unseen raspberry sounded back.

"My brother's part fey" she explained to Mortimer. "He's going to poke around in fey space. It's another universe with a semi-permeable interface with our universe and may be entered by using a z-axis rotation of complex numbers, and how nice, you actually follow what I'm talking about instead of glazing over like most people do." It was excellent to see his mobile face following her explanation instead of taking on the kind of horrified and confused look most people did. Lynx had once said in exasperation that if one could bottle Jade's words it would retail very nicely as a confusing and befuddlement draught.

Mortimer grinned.

"Only partly!" he said "I kinda get the gist though. Take me through it more slowly another time and I reckon I might get there!"

"WELL now!" said Jade pleased. "With a touch of goblin in there – the goblin are descendants of the fey – you can probably learn to access it readily enough; and that's another of us can learn without too much difficulty!"

"I can but only by Arithmancy and a lot of faith in having the fey blood kinship" said Severus.

"And the ones that are part Malfoy are three parts fey and the rest loony" said Fabian.

Jade poked him.

"And dangerous. You forgot, and dangerous" she added.

"As a sack full of adders!" said Fabian cheerfully.

"Ah well" said Jade "At least that's acknowledged… I guess it's about time to go put our names in the cup. I wager Lydia COULD have confunded it you know."

"Well I expect we shall find out when it's held next and Lilith manages to get her name in at er, rising fourteen" said Severus pulling a resigned look.

"Oh I back Lilith any day" said Jade cheerfully "You DID specifically forbid her from using feyspace to come and do it this time, didn't you?"

Severus gave her a wild, horrified look.

That was a score; one very rarely got one on daddy.

"I did not….it never occurred….."

Jade took pity on her father and grinned.

"Fortunately however it occurred to me; so I forbade her. That's why she was so snippy when we left."

Severus heaved a sigh of relief.

"Why me?" he asked.

The Prince Peak Marauders took a roundabout way to find the Goblet of Fire. That way they might claim to be lost and still be able to put names in if led firmly to it; and the same on the way back.

They would use the invisibility cloaks at other times too.

They had the same properties as Harry's artefact, and expanded to cover the number of people needing to use them; even the first little cloak, though that would only expand to cover four.

Which was all that was generally needed.

What was rather an unexpected side effect was that two groups under these fey artefacts could see each other dimly; which was handy.

They were mapping first; Jade would find a map of the castle useful and it would also give them a chance to find secret rooms and passages in physical space.

They reached the Goblet of Fire by their roundabout route without meeting trouble; all the younger ones were in bed and the older ones presumably putting in their names.

The goblet was a rough wooden thing filled with blue flames, set within the circle of the age line. Jade had her written permission from her guardian with her as well as her name; for she was not yet seventeen, despite being in the upper sixth. She walked calmly forward and dropped her papers in; and they vanished in a rush of flame. Lynx and Fabian did the same.

It was all a bit anticlimactic.

They mapped on the way back, startling only a group of younger Durmstrangers who were presumably on mischief bent; and who cowered in a way that made Jade feel sickened.

"We're not your prefects" said Jade "We haven't seen you. There's a big boy of your lot not far behind us."

"D-danke!" managed one of them.

"Just get out of sight, pestilential brats" said Jade.

They looked harmless types, not the hard faced children that might be out to hurt someone seriously; and Jade firmly did not bother to legilimens them to find out what they were up to.

Seagh had a report for the blood group.

"Yon Hedda Schrempf had a taste o' the cruciatus curse fer the lassie wha's talked tae Morty Bane; and a talkin' tae, aboot the foul degenerates wha's living among the dross o' society that give rise tae sich a travesty as Bane, fer humans as live in sich places are lost tae a' decency tae mingle their blood wi' inferiors" he said.

"Poor girl" said Jade "How did she take it?"

"Wi' seemin' indifference; she listened docile enough, seemed tae tak' it a' in; but she was aye verra thochtfu' when madam bitchbritches had gone" said Seagh. "I'm aye thinkin' we may be abletae steal yon lassie forbye."

"We'll have to see about that" said Jade. "And we may have to do something about Hedda Schrempf too; she is an abomination!"

"I hate the thought of you having her as a teacher" said Severus.

"I wasn't that enamoured of the idea myself, daddy" said Jade "But if she's downright nasty, isn't she doing some of our job for us? I mean, Helmut Hesse was a plausible creature; I bet he made far more conversions for Odessa than someone who thinks it's okay to use the cruciatus curse on students!"

"That IS a point" said Severus reluctantly. "Well, we must see what transpired over the competition; and we must also get to bed to be alert for the morrow; for doubtless there will be some excitement here too if our respective schools are attacked. I expect Fraulein Schrempf will wish to gloat."

"If I was you, I'd set up a diffusion charm about yourself and Albus whenever you're in public to take down any killing curse she chucks" said Jade "We KNOW she uses it when she loses her temper; and whilst you CAN take it from Albus, why get a headache for nothing?"

Severus nodded.

"Yes, I agree. Be alert."

"Our school needs lerts" grinned Fabian.

Severus cuffed him with two fingers and Fabian went off chuckling.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Great Hall at Durmstrang was silent as Madam Bacsó read out the names returned by the Goblet of Fire.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Timothée Picard!" she said. The lanky boy rose came forward and bowed with deep respect to Madam Maxime and politely to the other heads. The French contingent clapped as politely as the rest. He looked a typically French boy with sleek dark hair and olive skin; and unexpectedly green eyes. Bacsó went on "The Champion for Durmstrang is Anett Breuer!"

This was the girl who had made the comment about Mortimer being the child of rape and who had been subject to 'discipline' by Hedda Schrempf.

The German girl turned to Dumbledore once she had come to the front to take her place, and asked him

"Excuse, Herr Professor, is it true that at Hogwarts you teach goblins as well as part goblins?"

"It is" said Dumbledore.

"Is it that they do not attain a sufficient level of ability to bring to this competition?" she asked.

"By no means. There are two goblins within age at Hogwarts right now; and one at Prince Peak also; But Professor Snape and I fear for their safety under the rules concerning the use by goblins of wands. We did not think anyone would be ridiculous enough to enforce that on a boy who is only a quarter goblin; but with a duty of care to our children we did not wish them subjected to the insult of arrest for something WE do not consider a crime. Your laws differ; such as the permitting of the use of the Killing Curse in a friendly interschool duel on your part. Madam Schrempf will be able to attest to that since it was she who cast it on Harry Potter and as she was not disqualified one makes immediate assumptions." He was smiling genially.

Hedda Schrempf was glowering.

Anett Breuer's face went flat and emotionless.

"I see. Then it is possible we are not facing the best you can offer?"

Dumbledore considered.

"For my part I would say that because of their age – the two girls in age in MY care will not turn seventeen for a number of months – there are those who have come who surpass them. I would place them fifth and seventh in ability amongst my pupils."

"The goblin in MY school lies equal second in all lessons" said Severus "And I resent her exclusion. She is an able witch and flexible enough to do extremely well. Her brother was the first goblin at Hogwarts; he gave his blood for Harry Potter and he bears the same zig-zag scar all of us did who took wounds for him, all who bounce the killing curse thrown so readily by the unscrupulous. Fraulein Breuer you are right to question; unthinking belief in ANYthing is a lazy way to live and ultimately a betrayal of yourself. "

Anett Breuer bowed curtly to him and to Dumbledore.

Madam Bacsó cleared her throat; she wanted to get on. Foolish child! Did she not realise that asking such questions would get her into trouble? Hedda Schrempf would find some way to punish her for that! Of course all teenagers must go through a phase of asking stupid questions and it was better to answer partially and turn their interest aside; as might be possible even now if only the rash Schrempf girl could be shown this, but Hedda had ever been headstrong….

"The Hellibore Champion" said Madam Bacsó firmly "Is Miles Grant."

The younger of the two Grant boys rose, grinning idiotically and came to the front. His brother cheered him enthusiastically; the rest with more than politeness. He managed a rather jerky, ill-tutored bow at the heads.

"Well it's a start" muttered Jade.

"The Hogwarts Champion is Lionel Dell!" announced the Durmstrang Headmistress.

Lionel rose and bowed to his fellows before going forward; and what a difference between his reception and that of the other champions, for all his fellow candidates yelled with enthusiasm – save Achille Crouch-Villeneuve who was starting to complain that it wasn't fair because Dell was too old when Fran Longbottom absently dropped a _langlock_ spell on him. Jade and friends from Prince Peak yelled enthusiastically too; the transplants knew and respected Lionel too.

Lionel was popular with one and all; and if there had been secret hopes harboured that he might be too geriatric to be as good anymore, none really expected any other champion. And Mei Chang, who was a generous soul, cheered as loudly as any even though she knew full well that it had always been between her and Lionel.

The best man must represent the school.

And she would cheer for him and Jade both – she had no expectation of it NOT being Jade – and let the competition see which of those two surpassed the other.

Lionel at the dais bowed deeply to Dumbledore; and to each of the other heads.

Hellibore, remembering his boy's awkward bob, seethed at such elegant courtesy that almost reached caddery in its florid periods to the two ladies.

"The champion for Prince Peak Academy is Jade Snape" announced Madam Bacsó.

Jade was absurdly pleased, even though she knew that it had been highly likely that she would be the one chosen. Her whole inside was one big grin, though she let out only a small, pleased smile.

Jade was also treated to a shout of a cheer; and from the Hogwarts people as well as her own school. Jade was extremely popular. She went up to the dais and swept a beautiful curtsey to Madam Bacsó and then to each of the heads, sinking right down for Severus.

"Domine" she said.

Severus was working on not beaming all over his face.

He inclined his head to her.

And then they were being given the clues.

And the BloodGroup and Lionel and his Bloodkin suddenly froze momentarily.

"And so" murmured Jade "It begins."

David sent the blood pulse the moment the firework went up from the charcoal burners. Wulf had gone down to offer them the protection of the walls of the castle during an anticipated attack; and his friend Friedl had spat and said,

"We will not be even noticed if we keep to our haunts; there are other caves than those the villagers show to the public, though they may join up. We will take to the caves. But if, Herr Wolf Lord, you will give us a flare, we shall let you know if there is anything amiss."

Wulf had thanked him; and provided a rocket as a warning; and another, red flare, to send if the charcoal burners needed aid, now or any time.

They were fiercely independent men; but willing enough to exchange favours for favours, to work together. And as they would avoid starting another burning, those who had been between, they were likely scouting the forest they knew so well that they were almost as efficient at tracking and remaining unseen in it as the very animals.

The ex werewolves and the goblins of the railhead had NOT turned down sanctuary; and they swelled the defenders, as did Erich's elves and the Russian elves. Roesli had been ordered by Hermione to protect her baby by staying indoors.

The still meagre troops of Prince Peak poured onto the battlements. At the blood pulse those of the group had risen and given the nod to those who were to aid. They were sat at the back; the other children should not even notice right off that the others had gone from the great hall where they were watching the announcement of the champions.

The main fighters were the adults of the bloodgroup; David himself, Ellie, Hermione, Ron, Krait, Dione, Sirri, Beloc and Wulf. Senagra too, David thought. The non muggle ex werewolves would fight to the death to retain their new-found freedom, and Friedolf Nachtigall was a very capable wizard indeed. The goblins were manning a catapult much like a Roman ballista; and the independent, if still unfree, elves were busy with adding protection spells. Some manned Kalashnikovs on tripods; the better trained of Erich's people. Hercule, Percy and Byron were able wandsters, and Byron had the advantage of being MSHG trained. Lee was not so well trained but his transfigurational talents were considerable and sometimes unexpected.

As David was reminded when the Dementors came as the advance troops carrying their waves of despair and gloom; and Lee absently turned one into something pink and vaguely fluffy that started squealing in horror.

And that helped the rest to pull themselves together as much as anything else.

The rest of the group used the more conventional tactics of scattering them with patronuses – something Pamela was unfortunately unable to achieve but at least the likes of Tala, Helga and Harmony managed with a look of vague surprise that others should struggle. Bethany managed one, and Hester Figg's may not have been a very corporeal one but it was a patronus for all that.

And then the main fighters were shouting

"_Ri-de!_" and concentrating on one dementor at a time, to make it laugh itself to destruction in insane wracking laughter. It would be hard if the main attack came while the dementors were still there, thought David, but it was unlikely. The SturmZauberern did not want to mix it with dementors either. The terrified juniors set up a ragged cheer as dementors started exploding; and brave little fighters concentrated their efforts, screaming the imperative form of the Latin word 'laugh' in their youthful trebles. Victor, set faced and grim, was handling one at a time on his own, with Ulrich doing likewise. The adult ex werewolves copied the spell too; and just as well.

There were a hundred or more! David was horrified. Suppose they could NOT win? Severus trusted him to help protect his small children as well as David's own…. Then there was an explosion and the feelings of panic subsided. He had let one get rather close, and Krait had taken it down.

Killing dementors amounted to a passion for Krait; she was taking two at a time, one with each pointing finger, wand forgotten in her belt pouring sympathetic stars from its tip. Krait took two dementors every twenty seconds, shifting targets the moment they exploded. David grinned. If anyone was counting, it seemed likely she would win on points for the numbers.

Not that Ron or Hermione were doing badly. Ron, sensibly, concentrated on one at a time; Hermione appeared to be in unspoken competition with Krait, also taking two at a time and not QUITE as fast, which plainly irritated her. David had to suppress a chuckle. Those two had been rivals at academe since their schooldays; it would probably always be so. And good for the progress of the battle too.

In ten minutes more it was all over.

The next wave would be a physical attack; and so he called to the cheering small folk who were convinced that the whole battle was won.

The juniors sobered immediately.

"The use of dementors is to soften us up before they send in the real troops" David used '_sonorous'_ to reach all the youngsters who were involved. "That we have not been softened is due to the good discipline everyone has shown so far. Keep it up; they shall NOT prevail!"

They cheered that; and he did not dampen that hopeful yodel. They needed to feel good about it; it would give them a better chance.

Was he really only the same age as these babes when they had fought Huorns for the first time? No older than Ulrich and Helga when he had been leading a troop of sharp-shooters against Voldemort's werewolves? It seemed incredible! He could understand now far more of Minerva's desires to protect them and keep them from the unpleasantness.

But the very belief in their own invincibility that came with extreme youth had helped them to fight with an aplomb that escaped the more jaded adults who were doing it all over again. And he, David, must learn from that. They fought because it had to be done, without the joy of the sport of it that could not but infect the younger ones; but there was joy to be had from it, the satisfaction of keeping Europe safe for civilisation, and one day improving the lot of the downtrodden of these foreign lands. And the joy of working together as blood kin. David sent a pulse of love and exultation to be alive and standing together for what they believed in; and saw Hermione look startled – and suddenly thoughtful. Ron just turned and grinned at him. Ron was uncomplicated; and took life as he found it.

And was probably the happier for it.

And then the storm wizards were coming out of the forest below them on the mountain, gaining height quickly and racing towards the castle, blackening the sky with their numbers.

"Crumbs!" said Ron "Hardly target practice; shoot once and several fall!"

The comment was perhaps a little fatuous; but it heartened the few sharpshooters.

"They have guns…harquebuses" David made himself heard "Tony, sing us up a physical ward!"

Tony changed his song subtly; the protective shield shimmered faintly as he added a layer of protection against ordinary missiles. Rosamund and Hillary carried on the normal chant.

"Sir, why don't they put shields up against our guns?" Asked AHHa.

"Because the physical shield charm protects against missiles going slower than the speed sound travels at" said David absently "And Kalashnikovs fire supersonically."

"COOL!" said AHHa.

The shield was up in time as the harquebusiers let fly with their weapons.

"They're not actually that good, are they?" said Tala when very few bullets even struck the shield.

"At this range anyone who hits is on Felix" said David. "Even goblin-made harquebuses aren't that accurate, especially at this range. All right, fire at will."

The Kalashnikovs spoke their rapid chatter; and storm wizards fell.

The goblins on their ballista were firing steadily; they would suffer if Odessa won and they had no intention of letting the storm wizards anywhere near them.

This battle was in the air; the terrain was such that an attacker had little choice but to come in flying. While they approached they were vulnerable; but once they were over the castle they would be at the advantage of manoeuvrability. Then the older ones of the blood group would have to take to the air and try to defeat them in detail; and the youngsters must retreat within and hold the castle building.

David sighed.

"Feed me power, people; I think I have to feel an attack of David-the dragon coming on."

He was hit by power surges; and from those in Durmstrang too. He ducked back to change out of sight of the Odessa wizards; so it seemed that someone had released the Hungarian horntail that burst out over the castle wall breathing flame.

Scattering the mass of wizards was remarkably satisfying. David had a dragon's body and a quidditch player's mind and flew his dragon like a beater scattering chasers. The gout of flame worked better than a bludger too.

Great thing to have to break up fights as a referee….David chuckled at the thought of the looks on the faces of the players if he changed into a dragon to ref a match and cursed as chuckling scorched his own throat slightly. He swung his tail negligently and with arithmantic precision to sweep several wizards off their brooms.

He also yelped as someone with more enthusiasm than accuracy grazed his flank with high velocity fire.

Proved that it would work against dragons anyway if concentrated and properly aimed. One more pass and then he would rise on the thermals to re-assess and evaluate.

With David disrupting the storm wizards the other defenders could more easily pick them off before they could get a body of men into the castle. Krait was busy summoning gouts of petrol and setting light to it as it headed for her targets; it was a physical thing not magical fire and they could cast all the shield spells they wanted, and they would be ineffective.

Secure in a physical shield, Ron was busy enchanting stray boulders to be bludgers. It all added to the confusion among the enemy.

The enemy was starting to get serious with wand work as their guns were having little effect; and Wulf threw several youngsters bodily to the ground as the Killing Curse was flung at them.

He took it; and gasped with brief pain as the blood group dissipated it.

"Gosh sir, thank you!" said Victor "I say, you have the scar now!"

"Ah, that will be the brief headache" said Wulf. "Mr Crabbe, be so good as to collect up all those who are NOT marauders and lead them inside; if they're throwing the killing curse only those who are protected had better be out."

"Yes sir; it's a liability to have you worrying about the rest of us" said Victor, ruefully.

"Irmi is protected" said Wulf absently.

"So am I brother" said Lilith "I come to help now."

"All right; stay close and don't leave the castle for any reason" said Wulf. Letting Lilith help and keeping her in sight was the safest thing to do.

The non blooded withdrew; with more or less protest. It was orders from a Professor however so they were obedient, and Victor and Ulrich shepherded them in with Hester.

The attackers were significantly reduced in numbers; but still they came on.

Krait sighed.

"Well, I'm not pregnant" she said.

A second dragon rocketed out of the castle.

This one started circling the attackers, and the roaring was a chant. David joined her, opposite her in the circle she described.

"Oh donner und blitzen, are they trying to mate?" cried one of the wizards.

"Or fight; who cares? They are interested in each other not us!" called a second.

They were being herded into the circle; but they had not yet realised it, edging to escape the circling dragons, unaware the dragons had a deeper purpose than animal instinct.

Hermione had begun to chant to add her voice to the dragons, projecting it to sound with them.

"What are they doing?" demanded Sandalla.

"What they did to the castle they rescued you from" said Ron. "It's not quite so hard as taking wizards, castle, land and all; they need to be a bit careful though. Still, Krait is the works."

And then it was the culmination; and the rhythmic roar rose to a crescendo.

And the remaining wizards vanished.

The dragons were buffeted and thrown by the void caused by the banishing enchantment; and even the trees down the mountain whipped with the wind. The defenders on the castle wall fell to their knees sucked against the parapet.

The bulk of the dragons helped them to stabilise; then they were returning, landing, changing back.

"Oops" said Krait "Forgot that with a circle it'd take the air too; that was interesting."

"Krait you – you poor prune!" scolded Hermione "How COULD you? I thought for a moment you were going to be sucked into the evanesco place!"

"Wouldn't have happened" said Krait "THAT had closed; it was just the weather effect that was a bit of a problem. Reckon we'll have to be careful about that; and I need to keep an eye on the weather for a week or two….. we'll get Madam Gimlett to re lay the cards for weather 'cos I've just mucked up her last predictions. And mucking with the weather on two large a scale is NOT good. Is everyone all right? Wulf, I see you bounced the Killing Curse."

"They aimed at the kids" said Wulf. "They are honourless; utterly."

"In fairness I doubt they noticed if the defenders were adult or not" said Krait. "They fired the spell at those with AKs is more likely. Why not just use _expelliarmus_ I don't know."

"Because, please, Madam Malfoy, I should think they find it difficult to think of disarming people of a gun like muggles wouldn't think of disarming as a word about taking a wand" said Randolph Wright.

"Could it be that simple? Yes, conceivably it could" said Krait "Well reasoned Randolph. Five points to the third."

And the fighting was over.

They waited nevertheless; in case there was a third wave; and the wolves of Prince Peak went out to foray and scout and make sure there was no other threat.

There was not.

Wulf started laughing as they got back.

"Hmmm?" said Krait.

"We should perhaps have transfigured into wolves right off and used the flying skill; and let one escape to tell the news that the super werewolves could fly" he said.

Krait grinned.

"Amusing, but somehow I'd rather keep them guessing over whether we have super wolves or not; and if so, what they can do" she said. She pulled a face. "I don't know if we got all of them; I've a feeling there may have been one or two who was sufficiently incapacitated that they had landed; and who may have got away. Deucedly hard to check with the treeline; and hard to follow with muggles living close by." She went on, "They may then send werewolves to spy to find out about our super wolves; and we can cure more, whether they want to be or not"

Wulf nodded soberly.

"Yes; to cure all of this loathsome disease is a priority for me at least" he said.

Back in Durmstrang, the feast was proceeding; blood group members absently feeding power to their friends in England or in Austria as appropriate; the surge to David leaving them wondering what had happened. Severus of course had a mental link to Krait; so he was at an advantage of knowing exactly what was going on. He raised an eyebrow at the banishing charm. He was less surprised than Krait and David that they were fighting the eye of a small and sudden whirlwind, and poured strength into them.

Hedda Schrempf rose and banged on the table.

There was silence.

"The farce of continuing with the Hogwarts and Prince Peak contingent becomes superfluous" she said in her harsh voice "For those schools are no longer in the control of their erstwhile heads. Dumbledore, Snape, you are under arrest!"

Wanded Odessa agents burst in the doors. Agata Bacsó jerked convulsively in shock, anger on her face.

This was NOT what she was expecting!

"Dear me, Fraulein Schrempf, aren't you being a trifle premature?" said Dumbledore, amused.

"KILL HIM!" screeched Schrempf.

Green flashes burst from the wands of the Odessa men. Madam Maxime threw herself ignominiously below the table, followed by the Durmstrang staff. Bacsó stood, furious and unable to believe her eyes.

Dumbledore picked a piece of fluff from his robe – imaginary, but still a cool gesture – as the green flares dissipated. The blood group took a collective headache. The diffusion spell had done its job but against many spells there had been a need to dissipate the spell, and scars briefly flared if anyone had been happening to look.

Severus smiled.

"They don't learn, do they?" he said. "Rats, I think, my children; don't trouble with leaving their minds intact."

The members of the two blood groups stood up; and each just glanced at one of the invading wizards who started to turn their wands on these defiant juveniles. The squealed in terror as they shrank, grew fur, and ran hither and thither from their suddenly empty robes squeaking in high rodent voices.

For Mortimer, who had never realised that this was possible before even WITH a wand the silent, wandless casting that he too knew how to do now was heady; Jade felt his joy in this power and grinned at him savagely.

"Thank you Severus; a perfect solution" said Dumbledore "Would you pass the teapot? I believe I've worked up a little thirst."

"Certainly, Albus" said Severus, levitating it over and pouring tea without bothering with wand or incantation. "I believe there was just the little matter of Fraulein Schrempf and her premature assumptions…. You really DO underestimate our respective pupils you know my dear; Jade's little sister is still at Hogwarts after all and her little friends, as well as some very able professors; and I know my own staff and upper school quite equal to the feeble attempts of Prince Gerhardt to discommode them. Agata, your new deputy is I think somewhat out of line."

"She is" said Madam Bacsó grimly.

"Eet ees INTOLERRABLE!" said Madam Maxime, easing her not inconsiderable bulk back onto the specially reinforced chair that she had brought for her own use.

The school was in a welter of babble and uproar.

Madam Bacsó banged the table hard.

The noise subsided, somewhat fearfully.

"The…er, excitement is over!" she said coldly "Hedda, I think you should retire. I will speak to you later."

Hedda Schrempf opened her mouth, caught her former mentor's eye and nodded curtly.

Seagh had quietly disappeared and from nowhere the tones of a male soprano sang,

"Gerhart has only got one ball

Gellert had two but verra sma'

Hedda would if they let her

And Von Frettchen has no balls at a'"

He kept the Scots accent mostly under control but it escaped occasionally.

Hedda went several different colours; and only Madam Bacsó's glare kept her moving out of the room.

Severus was trying not to grin. It was remarkably reprehensible of his son; but he had to say, MOST enjoyable!

The sports ministers of the three countries involved were angry too; they had also emerged from under the table and were busy demanding answers from Agata Bacsó.

"I cannot think what is going on" the Headmistress was only partially lying; she had NOT had any warning!

Murphy, the British Sports Minister, rounded on the German Minister.

"Sure, and is this an example of yer German efficiency that ye go on about, begorrah?" he demanded "That on yer own soil ye think ter win by ARRESTIN' the participants most likely ter show yer own candidates up as foolish? D'ye WANT open war wi' Britain? Fer ye're afther goin' the roight way about it, so ye are!"

"Herr Murphy, this is not of the German Ministry an act" said the German Sports Minister "It is as Madam Maxime says intolerable; the woman Schrempf will questioned be and the meaning of this unravelled!"

"Wirra, that's all very well, but can ye guarantee that the children will not again be threatened by wanded ruffians?" demanded Murphy. "It's thinking I am that ye should be layin' hold o' the besom roight away t' be sure, and keepin' her under close guard!"

"Mais OUI, I add my voice to M'sier Murphee!" said the French Sports Minister, a rotund little man who naughty Jade said looked like M. Poirot. "Eet ees not to be born zat such sings 'appen in a school! Zis Schremmmmf female, she ees not sane, and zese rats of wanded men zey are 'orrible people, and we need to know who zey are and why zey come!"

"I can tell you that minister" said Severus. "Hedda Schrempf was, when she threw the killing curse at Harry, a protégé of the Odessa agent Helmut Hesse who was so foolish as to challenge Professor Dumbledore to a duel. The uniforms were those of Odessa. The Wizarding Council will need to know of this; Albus, you will pass it on through the usual channels?"

"Oh certainly" said Dumbledore, smiling gently.

Severus was known as Severin Prince when he was a council member; but he liked his anonymity.

At least the council took serious notice of Odessa and did not sweep it under the carpet as the ministry would have done if it had still had the ruling of Britain.

"Odessa is a fiction!" said the German sports minister.

"Indeed?" said Dumbledore "Perhaps you will tell that to those officers who believe themselves to be high in its organisation that we have captured on previous attacks on Hogwarts? Severus I believe you too have had captives?"

"A few" said Severus "I don't generally consider taking captives worth while. Blood and bonemeal add nicely to our rather poor topsoil however."

"Ah, such a pragmatist as you have always been, Severus" murmured Dumbledore. "I confess we have not taken many prisoners; so many of the creatures we keep to study are carnivorous, there are always ways to dispose of the human and beast remains; and the huorns rot down eventually. Agata, I have mentioned before that you should think carefully before you choose sides."

"You speak as always in riddles, Albus" said Madam Bacsó.

"Well you must go your own way" said Dumbledore. "And I suggest that one way you go is to get aurors in to arrest the Schrempf woman before she flees."

"Yes, straight away!" said the German minister.

Seagh and Severus slipped away in feyspace to Hedda Schrempf's room; legilimensy from feyspace was much harder but not impossible. She was furious; and frustrated. And she was busy contacting her superiors to ask what was going on.

"Surely Dumbledore has the complacency of ignorance?" she demanded "He and his unnatural youngsters have defeated the attempts to arrest him and Snape, but with him out of the way how CAN the school have held out?"

"We have received no report as yet from either Hogwarts or Prince Peak" said Von Frettchen trying not to sound worried "But if there is isolated resistance it will take a little time to mop up. Do not fear; when the first task is over the champions will return and be defeated by our people who will be ready for them. You should claim to have been under the Imperious Curse, and let them think it was for game fixing, some organisation of gamblers. You MUST keep your cover for now."

"Yes My Lord" said Schrempf. She turned away without seeing the look of contempt on the face of the Duke as his image flickered out of the flames.

Severus proceeded to read all she knew.

It was precious little.

Von Frettchen did not then trust her with much; Severus was not surprised.

He had far too much respect for the Ferret's abilities to think he cared much for such a tool.

He had, however, made a certain threat to Gerhardt Grindelwald; and that must be carried out with Seagh's help soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Durmstrang was subdued.

There were those within the school who supported the ideals of Odessa – many of whom would have liked to have got the contumelious part goblin alone – and the ease with which the nine children had risen and contemptuously turned armed men into rats without even getting their wands out was frightening! Also that Dumbledore had IGNORED the killing curse – though those who were close enough whispered that he too now bore, or had had revealed on him, the zig-zag scar.

The killing curse was not bounced without some penalty; and Dumbledore was joined only to Severus who had managed to raise diffusion spells before the spells were cast. This then had taken a little more effort than if it had been but a single spell on a full bloodgroup member. However Dumbeldore's apparent ignoring of the spell was awesomely impressive.

And the English, they laughed and chatted as normal as though this was not out of the ordinary! Apart from the ones from the boys' school, they were subdued enough.

Miles Grant had suggested to Professor Hellibore that if even the rejects as champions from the other English schools performed wordless wandless magic as a matter of course like that, that perhaps Hellibores Academy was a little out of its league in this competition.

Engelbert Hellibore had been frightened into almost wetting himself; and had been secretly very impressed, which made him answer angrily – for he was as pigheaded as he was inept – that such defeatist talk was not for them!

Miles shrugged and took himself off to the library to try to find some clue to the first task clue that the contestants had been given.

There was a week in which to solve it; and they were to stay here during that time in this cheerless castle.

Miles and his brother had already determined to try to get to know the Hogwarts bunch better; and find out from the couple of boys from Prince Peak what it was like being in essentially a girls' school.

Jem and Fabian and Seagh shrugged.

"We've always been co-ed" said Jem "It'd be nice to have a few more chaps; but most of the girls in our crowd are chaps anyway. Jade and Lynx and Senagra; and Angelica and Sylvia aren't so dusty either. There's even numbers in the new intake, so that's all very nice. And a bit more racial mix too; it was very strange to be in a school of all humans bar Senagra. Sort of….incomplete."

That was an interesting viewpoint; and Miles was a boy to whom finding out and learning was a priority so he filed that away!

They had all read the poem, set by the Beauxbatons contingent.

The riddle read,

"I have a much resistant hide

Though trolls are known to hitch a ride

Born to the purple, high I wander

Who am I, I hear you ponder!

Avoid a gore to avoid your gore

And you may then go on once more."

Jade had read it, looked at Lionel, laughed and said,

"Well that's simple enough, isn't it?" it was so obvious; purple coloured – or greyish purple, anyway – beasts were not common. With resistant hide and horns to gore, it had to be Graphorns; which lived high in European mountains. They had a four-X classification on the Ministry of Magic scale; not as dangerous as dragons but not easy. After all, though trolls did sometimes manage to ride them, more trolls bore the marks of Graphorn goring and if TROLLS found them hard to handle they were not easy. They would presumably have to retrieve something; that was the standard form for this task. Well, she could do anything on a broom; she would do as Harry had done against dragons.

Lionel grinned.

"Dangerous beasties" he said "But then, so are dragons and acromantula. Got an idea on tactics?"

Jade shrugged.

"I thought I might do what I do well; worked for Harry. You?"

"I thought I might go read a book on bull fighting."

"Lionel! You posy little BASTARD! You're going for a quite?" she pronounced it correctly, keetay, Lionel noted.

He grinned.

"Why not?"

"Heh, easy to see YOU're part Malfoy!" laughed Jade.

"I don't expect to beat you on time whatever I do; so I thought I'd go for massive style and cool points" said Lionel calmly.

Jade had to laugh; he was such a showman. But then, why not? Giving the audience a show was part of the whole thing, and if he could muck about like that and STILL beat the Durmstrangers, it was all to the good.

She noted that Lionel was also giving a hint to the Hellibore boy over where to find out what the clue meant. Hellibores did NOT study magical creatures apparently.

The others would get there sooner or later though the girl Anett Breuer was puzzling over the clue still, her expression forbidding; she would not welcome help.

Severus meanwhile went with Seagh to see Gerhardt. He took a thicker switch this time and came upon him in his bed.

_Expelliarmus_ cast wordlessly threw him across the room; and Severus applied his switch to a rump that was staring to carry a little more weight than was strictly attractive. Gerhardt was a typical German of the type that did not take enough exercise and soon his fairytale prince looks would be eroded in flesh that was also starting to look coarse of texture from too much good living. The _muffliatus_ spell made sure that his guards did not interrupt.

This time Severus gave him eight of the best.

"You are a very naughty boy, Gerhardt" said Severus "Coming calling and with such ruderies when I was out! I was quite put out; we English really dislike rudeness. I think it's about time you realised that you are whipped – in more ways than one – and gave up this foolish endeavour. Don't get in my hair again; next time I may be disposed to be rather more punitive in my measures."

Gerhardt whinnied in terror.

Wherever he was this terrible Englishman seemed to be able to find him! And the pain of the lash, it was insupportable! And his men had not come to him; what had happened to them? He went – limping rather – to scream at them.

And it was not merely the pain but the humiliation!

Severus and Seagh returned with grim satisfaction.

Treating Gerhardt with contempt kept the prince angry and not thinking straight; wiping out his forces must by now be starting to erode the faith his other men had in him.

He would be desperate to find out what had happened; but would not dare attack again.

They might give their attention to supporting Jade in the first task

The Triwizard contestants had the run of the castle and the right to use its library or potions dungeon as they chose.

The French boy availed himself of the latter and Jade had to be nosy over what he was making. Lionel was also peering.

The cauldron had a lid on it and the smoke that came off was chartreuse.

"Oh garrotting gas" said Jade "That might work so long as he doesn't knock himself out too. A potioneer; I might even talk to him a bit."

"You are such a skill snob" said Lionel.

"Yes" said Jade "You managed to become a potioneer; and that I respect even more than someone who's born to it you know, because it's sheer hard work that got you your 'E'."

"Thanks" said Lionel "It was down a lot to your dad."

"And he couldn't have helped you if you hadn't helped yourself" said Jade. "WHAT a waste of time this is; I shall go and see what dark tomes they have in the library; it'd be worth knowing. And I might just destroy some of them a little bit at that" she added thoughtfully.

Having figured out both the task and the tactic, Jade had a week to herself. Lynx was popping back to school and her daughter regularly, and bringing news too in detail of how the Odessa troops were defeated; so Jade and Fabian spent their time poking around inside and outside the castle making measurements and checking from innocuous looking walks on the outside for any windows that did not appear on the inside.

Such diligence was paying off; and there was one window at least at the top of the castle with no apparent way to it; and a number of walls that were ridiculously thick.

The means of entrance was ridiculously simple and very basic; one pulled candle sconces.

Of course, one had to pull the correct candle sconces; but knowing which walls were too thick gave a limited number of places that entrances were likely to be. The first entrance they found was from beside a fireplace in a commonroom; which they explored openly during the day while the majority were in lessons. It also tied up the staff.

The passage was thick with dust.

"Ooer!" said Jade "This isn't very well used!"

"No it isn't is it?" said Fabian. "Perhaps it's just this end."

"Well I'm going to banish all this dust; I have no desire to come out covered in dust and giving the game away" said Jade, absently casting _evanesco_ as they went while Fabian held up his wand for light.

They measured and mapped to add the passage in so they had a good idea where the various other exits might be. There was a narrow stair all the way up to the attics; but not to the region where the spare window was. The stair also went on and became even narrower and exited in a turret room that was being used as a lumber room.

"Blocked off this would make a decent marauding room" said Jade. "Right, down we go again and see the rest of the straight bit of passage."

The passage exited in what they thought was a classroom on the same floor as the common room; and ran down stairs directly to the kitchen.

"It's a good start" said Fabian "That one hasn't been used in generations, I swear it; there was dust everywhere!"

"Ridiculous, isn't it?" said Jade "That third years should be so un-enterprising as to fail to find in their own common romm, a passage directly to the kitchen AND a hidey hole to have midnight feasts in is quite extraordinary! As bad as Miss Cackle's gels, I declare; but our third years have a healthy desire to search for secret passages!"

"And so I should think have the third at Hogwarts – lumme, yes, that's Bella Black and co!" said Fabian "I do think these Durmstrang types are poor prunes!"

"Comes of being trained into cowed obedience I suppose" said Jade "And having the individuality of them trained out. Well, we'll be able to set up a whole load of saboteurs in here to sabotage Fraulein Schrempf and steal house elves and things. And when I've found the secret room too, I'll be well happy. I wonder if I might cheat and fly up and see if I can't get in the window?"

"You can't to the marauding room; the stonework's too close."

"Unless I do snake" said Jade. "The great thing about being a metamorphagus is that you can go anywhere."

"I suppose so" said Fabian. "Are you nervous?"

"About the Triwizard or about spying?"

"Spying; you've nothing to be nervous about with the Triwizard."

"I'm not nervous; I'm terrified" said Jade "But that's what my bloodsibs are for, isn't it, to reassure me and heave my tail out – or kill me if that's unfeasible – if I get found out."

"KILL you?"

"If they learn about fey and elf apparating and feyspace and have me THAT secure to torture you may have to pulse the killing curse along the bloodlink" said Jade. "Better than me talking about the main secret, how much we can do with blood magic. I don't personally think that it's likely; because for one thing these blood snobs so despise elves that they'd not think of studying their means of apparating; and for another the fey don't talk that much about feyspace and besides bloodsnobs don't like admitting that other races might know really useful things that they don't."

Fabian nodded.

"You had me worrying there for a moment" he said. "We'd better go and be seen in cleanly virtue."

Jade went searching for the secret room over night.

It was a window concealed by obviousness, and only someone looking for such would think to count inside and out.

It was on the top main floor, between two staff bedrooms. Jade unlocked the window and slid in.

The dust of ages lay here too.

DREADFULLY un-enterprising the Durmstrangers.

The doors to the rooms on this floor were, she recalled pretty evenly spaced; the way they had done this must have been by having the doors to one end or the other of the wall in the rooms to either side of this, to bring them closer together.

There appeared to be no way out.

Surely it couldn't be so simple…..

Jade took a deep breath and walked at the wall.

It gave; and she came out on the staff corridor.

"It really is that simple" she murmured to herself, marking the place; and walked back in.

She returned to her room by flying from this window to hers; as she shared with Lynx, Angelica and Sylvia that was no problem.

There might be more secret passages; but they could wait for the next visit.

She would rest tomorrow for the task the day after.

Hedda Schrempf had been questioned sternly by German authorities meanwhile.

Madam Bacsó announced dryly at supper that the unfortunate Madam Schrempf had been acting under the imperius curse laid on her by some unknown organisation that wished to upset the competition for the purpose of fixing the betting.

"And I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale" came an audible voice from the Prince Peak table. It was Fabian.

Madam Schrempf was said to be too much upset by the affair to come to join everyone else for meals.

As Severus said cynically to the combined Prince Peak and Hogwarts MSHG when they met to run as usual, what she meant was, she was afraid of being legilimensed.

"Too late though" he added laconically "Did THAT the moment I recognised her. I'd give something to find out what she said when she found out neither attack had succeeded though. And what Gerhardt said. I bet he frothed, no Seagh, it's not worth the risk just to satisfy curiosity."

"What about to find out wha' the shilpit wee sumpf is planning next?" asked Seagh. It had been worth checking her report to Von Frettchen; but his father was right, since they had found out that Schrempf did not know enough to make spying on her worth while for more than shits and giggles.

"He won't be" said Dumbledore "Gerhardt had planned meticulously for everything in the double attack; except one thing. Failure. He was so sure that with Severus and me out of the way he would succeed easily; and when he was stopped dead he was left without an option. He gets rather easily flatfooted."

Seagh and Severus grinned. It wan't his feet Severus had flattened for punishment. Dumbledore was right.

"Just as well" said Lionel. "Sir, is this ruddy competition all a ruse to get him to overreach himself and hopefully commit so many forces that he's seriously weakened and unable to do anything now?"

"Let's just say it had that as a part of it" said Dumbledore. "Severus and I were not displeased that he went so far as a double pronged attack and committed hundreds of troops."

"Hundreds?" Lionel was shocked.

"Hundreds. Dementors first – and every dementor destroyed is a better dementor – and then wizards. And at Hogwarts, young Ross's idea worked excellently. He didn't use werewolves; I suspect he thinks we treat them too lightly. Krait thinks some might have got away from Prince Peak; it's a hard place to pursue fugitives without getting too close to muggles. But they were defeated comprehensively at both schools. And Gerhardt does not know what to do next; and I suspect his supporters and lieutenants must be getting a little twitchy about his preoccupation with the schools. Strategically he is sound; and he knows that. But not if he can't win. And all his troops must be starting to discuss the fact that people go on missions and fail to return….."

Lionel grinned.

"And so we shan't have to kill them because they might start quietly deserting?"

"One can always hope!" said Dumbledore.

The arena was set up and the contestants waited without. Jade had prepared a broom to summon once she was inside; and so too had the German girl Anett. Anett had spent some time asking Mortimer about his family; and had been impressed by the fact that the boy had not hidden that he was of the lowest, sent to Hogwarts on the sponsorship of one of his teachers in a free school. And also that one of the teachers at the free school was the first goblin to attend Hogwarts, who was from a prosperous family who paid for all of their offspring. Konal had not always been as prosperous as he was now; but certainly to a boy of Mortimer's background he was very well heeled indeed. Mortimer spoke in the words of his mentors of racism being a matter of fear through lack of understanding fostered by partially accurate stereotypes, and that nobody had any right to declare that goblins were this or that unless they had interacted on a long term basis with enough disparate types to say that they had formed their own opinion.

Anett had been taught many things about goblins but she could see that this argument was sufficiently cogent to take it on board. She wished to prove to herself that the received wisdom she had been taught was true; but only by talking to goblins and – revolting though the concept was to her – part goblins, could she see that the wisdom of ages was indeed so.

And this she told Hedda Schrempf firmly, as Jade managed to overhear.

Schrempf, having had a good talking to by Madam Bacsó sniffed and said that if she got herself killed with such foolishness it was her own business.

Anett agreed equably.

It was plain that she disliked Schrempf; and Jade gloated that Schrempf was starting to alienate a potential ally. She met the girl again as the German girl stacked a broom beside Jade's.

They exchanged a nod.

First to go was Miles Grant of Hellibore, the positions chosen by drawing numbers. The boy looked terrified. Jade smiled at him; she would not know what had happened until later; but she wished him luck. Any of her friends spectating could rescue him if he needed it.

He had worked hard in the library, and had presumably come up with a strategy.

Jade had sharp hearing; and heard him shout,

"_Paluster!_" the Latin for swampy.

It was a good improvisation; and the reason for suddenly appearing quagmires around the school over the last few days became immediately apparent.

The sudden surge of blood activity told Jade that something was wrong; but Mei felt as though she was handling it. Jade put power into Mei, and presently the heightened activity ceased.

Severus contacted his daughter to explain that the boy had been gored; and that the chanters among the children had healed him and impressed Hellibore no end after the school nurse had given him up for dying.

Jade worked not to snort; over both Hellibore AND the school nurse.

Anett Breuer went in next and her broom flew from where she had stacked it. The cheer showed a quick time.

Next it was the French boy, Timothée Picard.

He summoned his prepared potion

Jade winced as Timothée screamed!

And once again the chanters went into action; and once again, Jade loaned aid.

Jade was next.

Her tactics were to be the same as Anett's; but it was understood that any equipment prepared beforehand that duplicated the choice of another was not to be considered copying unless clear evidence of cheating was involved. Madam Bacsó raised the question of Jade having brought a broom too; and Lionel said laconically

"Yes, she mentioned the tactic she would probably use within minutes of us reading the riddle, as it was so easy to solve. It seems likely that Fraulein Breuer also recalled Harry Potter's use of the same against dragons. She was not within earshot of us however; so you need not feel that England will lodge a complaint that Fraulein Breuer has cheated, for I am sure Jade does not believe she has, do you, Jade?"

"Miss Breuer seems quite capable of making up her own mind without stooping to low tactics" said Jade cheerfully "I do not resent her choosing the same tactics as me, though it is going to be less interesting for the judges since I have the misfortune to follow her."

Madam Bacsó of course had not had the intent of assuring the English that Anett was not cheating but of stirring up trouble to suggest that Jade was. That this other English boy attested to the Snape girl having spoken of her intent within a few minutes of reading the clues put THAT chance out of court; for it had taken Anett several days to figure out the clue, let alone formulate a tactic!

So Jade summoned her broom – without resorting to speech – and leaped to be on it as it arrived in a piece of purely Malfoy showing off. She shot straight between the horns of the graphorn, confusing it utterly in a nice piece of timing that had applause from the crowd. It took her too on a more direct route to grab the box; and she accrued twenty two time points. The cheer from the mixed Hogwarts and Prince Peak contingent as she swept up the box was sweet.

Murphy gave her nine points for such audacity and elegance of summoning; the French judge gave her eight, one more than he had given Anett for the style as he said; and the German judge gave her six for using a tactic already used.

Jade flushed.

"Which of us used it first was in the luck of the draw" she said quietly "Madam Bacsó was able to clear Anett of copying my idea; she was concerned I might think so but when I was discussing it on the first day, Anett was not within earshot. Are you accusing ME of cheating?"

"If Fraulein Snape formulated the idea on the first day she had the idea first" said Anett "I suspect we both copied the great Harry Potter."

"Quite" said Jade "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Old English maxim."

"ARE you accusing my champion of cheating?" asked Severus silkily.

The German minister shook his head hastily.

"No of course not! But it is less easy to find style marks when one sees the same thing a second time."

"Domine, so long as I am not accused of cheating, I am content" said Jade "The German markers are as fair as always, as at the duelling contest."

She smiled ironically.

She had accrued forty five points; two more than Anett even with the blatant marking down by the German judge for the score board showed Anett on twenty time points and twenty three awarded..

And such was making Anett angry too; she was the sort of girl who wanted to win, but she wanted to win on her own merits not by cheating on the part of her countrymen. It had been this desire, to pit herself against the best, that had prompted her to ask about the abilities of goblins left behind; even if she personally doubted that they would be in her league.

Neither of the boys who had so far been were anywhere; and Severus filling her in told her that neither had made allowance for the sheer endurance of the Graphorn, able to move faster even in swamp than Miles had hoped, though he was marked quite well for ingenuity; and not going unconscious before it had gored Timothée. Both owed their lives to the assorted English chanters.

"And I wager, young Miles feeling relatively flushed with success to be seven points ahead of the French lad" said Severus. "Quite a coup for Hellibore; even if it was Lionel's hints that got the boy THAT far."

Last to go was Lionel.

He summoned his red cloak the moment he was in – which is to say he held out his hand and it flew to him. Jade applauded the style.

The Graphorn charged.

Lionel pirouetted to one side, leading the creature after the cloak.

"OLE!" cried a voice from the crowd.

Durmstrang had a Spaniard teaching the study of Magical Beasts; who had presumably set up this contest with the aid of the French who had devised it. Lionel grinned.

He was obviously enjoying himself now, ever the showman; and as the beast charged again he once more flipped the cloak contemptuously past him, leading it on. He strolled down towards the box at the other end, and reached it as the frustrated graphorn realised that once again it had failed to connect.

Once more a flick of the cloak; then he was strolling out to wild applause, kissing his hands to girls, and inclining his head to boys.

"What, no suit of lights?" said Jade, meeting him.

Lionel grinned.

"There is such a thing as over the top" he said.

He was engulfed in a large Spanish embrace, a torrent of Spanish in his ears and kisses firmly placed on each cheek.

As Lionel's knowledge of bullfighting came largely from what he had read in books since arriving in Germany and a little bit about the ritual sacrifice of a bull as a form of blood magic in Spanish magical ritual, taken on by muggles as a fertility ritual, he thought he had done quite well.

Señor Carcano concurred; much to the irritation of Madam Bacsó.

Her staff were not supposed to be congratulating the enemy so fulsomely!

Lionel had gained only eleven time points; but England and France both gave him nine style points, Murphy explaining that whilst it had been well done he could not award a whole ten since any Briton had to deplore the suggestion of barbaric blood sports prevalent on the continent. The German judge gave him eight; as many as he had awarded Anett so he had been at least somewhat impressed.

After the first task, then, it was the French boy who was at the bottom with twenty points overall; and Miles delighted not to be at the bottom, as he had feared he might be, having managed to accrue twenty seven points. The three clear leaders were Lionel on thirty seven, Anett on forty three and Jade on forty five.

Jade was pleased.

It was always good to be at or at least near the top of the leader board; and to be ahead of Lionel, who was a worthy opponent was excellent. This Anett seemed a worthy opponent too, and a girl of honour; and Jade was glad to leave her with a handshake and a smile while she went off to ponder the second task.

The second task was set by Prince Peak; and that would be tortuous, no doubt; and would in no way pander to Jade's strengths but might even test her weaknesses.

Severus was like that.

Jade hoped that the Hogwarts team would leave one of their supposed supporters home next time.

Achille Crouch Villeneuve had managed to run foul of Lynx several times over the week they were in Germany and Fran Longbottom and Lionel had needed to extricate him from a succession of intricate and quite ingenious jinxes, the last of which had required half an hour of dedicated chanting on Lionel's part to undo him first from the spherical form, restore the full effect of gravity, remove the tentacles, hiccups and excess and fluorescent farting that in ball form had propelled him around randomly.

The cousins did NOT get on at all well and Achille had not the common sense to leave Lynx severely alone without making snide and often racist comments about her friendships with non humans. Lionel pointed out to Lynx that he preferred that foreigners not be shown the differences between team members so blatantly, asking her nicely not to make her dislike for her cousin be a lever for the Germans.

Lynx apologised – to Lionel but NOT to Achille – and promised she would TRY to ignore the little tick.

"I'll try to persuade him to stay home next time" said Lionel diplomatically "It's not like he likes me enough – or even at all – to want to cheer me on. I'll persuade him he'll be happier at home."

"Do. Otherwise I can arrange a non-embarrassing solution of having him live out his life as a frog" said Lynx

"What had he done?" asked Lionel mildly.

"Oh asked me, because I was getting to know Mortimer, if I was going to make my branch of the family even more ridiculous and shamed by sullying our blood with a part goblin brat from who knew where" said Lynx. "A woodlouse might have been a more appropriate transfiguration but he's such a big windbag I thought I'd make him into a big windbag."

"I see" said Lionel. "He really is the biggest creep never to have been expelled from Hogwarts! He won't trouble you again."

Jade was glad that Lionel had THAT in hand; for Achille really irritated Lynx while she was moping for her daughter.

She resolved to work on not letting people get under HER skin the same way next year.

And now it was home to her beloved Wolf and a bit of normality,


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Jade examined the next clue on the way home.

The box had opened easily; there appeared to be no hidden catch to it. Inside was a piece of parchment marked with a few lines and equilateral triangles of varying sizes. There was also the appended note

"All you will need to save your heart's desire from certain death will be there."

Just to be certain, Jade checked with all the paranoia and collected wisdom of generations of marauders for hidden drawers, secret compartments or anything else.

There was nothing that she could find; and Jade was FAIRLY confident that if there was nothing that she could find there was nothing that could be found.

Besides, the map was a puzzle in itself. For map it assuredly was, with geomantic symbols on it. She would need to compare it to a map of the neighbourhood of Durmstrang. That would be no trouble. Geomancy was not Jade's long suit; but she had absorbed enough about it to be as competent as most people who were studying it to NEWT, as with Comparative Magic which she claimed to 'know a bit about'.

Jade really had no idea just how much she had assimilated in her young life from her thirst for knowledge and her insatiable curiosity in listening to her elders.

It did not take her long in the library at Prince Peak to orient the map on the surroundings of the castle; and she covered the map with notes, then turned it over to make the arithmantic calculations necessary to apparate to a known but never visited point.

She intended to hand the notes in to the judges to be taken into account; an arithmantic solution should be good for an extra style point, one might think!

Especially with those judges who did not understand them,

And then it was back to normality.

Normality included the necessity for the better chanters to heal the very nasty broken collar bone and cracked scapula that Rose Hubble gave herself pitching headfirst of her broom when she tried to pull off the Wronski feint.

"Nice try young Hubble but no banana" said Ron

"Damn nearly worked" said Jade "But there's a second half to the Wronski feint, Rosie-Posie, you dive for the ground, yes; and then you PULL OUT of the dive."

"I tried" said Rose "And my broom did, but I sort of fell off and I kept going."

"Are you sure you're not related to 'Dangerous Dai' Llewellyn?" asked Ron.

Rose grinned weakly through the pain.

"Not so far as I know, Sir" she said.

"Well Professor at least she hasn't killed herself so I suppose you could say, never say Dai….." quipped Jade.

Ron cuffed her with two fingers.

"THAT was worse than one of Draco's" he said.

Normality also meant Fred and Flo firmly fagging. Fred was dogging Fabian's footsteps and Flo Jade's, by common consent of the twins. It was Jade they adored but Fabian was nice and as Deputy Head Boy he ought to have extra help too.

That the twins decided to light fires and toast crumpets for the older ones on a chill October day was quite enterprising; and Jade and Fabian only had to have the window open for half an hour to dissipate the smoke and the crumpets did not taste TOO smoky with the application of plenty of butter, though Flo did look a little shifty as she ate hers – they had invited the children to stay in the Head Girl's study and share – and apologised for the smoke in a sudden burst of contrition.

"Oh lighting fires without smoke is an art" said Jade "It needs to be learned as much as anything. I expect you used a bit too much paper and dead leaves. And the 'Times' which is what I take is rather better quality than the 'Prophet' and consequently doesn't burn as well. It's a good time to practise your bluebell flames and light wood directly. It IS good to practise doing it the muggle way as well, for when you're at home and not allowed to use your wands. Perhaps we can light the fires together, while I direct you, and give you some hints and tips."

"Oh WOULD you Jade?" said Flo "If we could do that at home too we could be really helpful to Mum! Lawrence doesn't need so much care now but we still want to help!"

"You're good kids" said Jade.

Poor little sprouts, their mum had never had time to take to teach them the things that could have helped to make her less busy. It would be a bit of a chore; and Jade could sympathise that the poor woman, taken up with the crippled baby, would not feel that she could show inept small people how to do something when it was quicker to do it herself; but it had been a false economy of time.

"I guess I may as well teach you to cook as well" said Jade. "Though I'll hand you over to Sirri for some things; she won't let me in her kitchen to teach, I wager, she'd rather do the job herself!"

"She's a bit scary" said Flo.

Jade laughed.

"No she isn't! She's a bit forceful to people she thinks are trying to disrespect her because she's a free elf and she doesn't much like racists and people who think elves are for doing down, but she's the sweetest and kindest! She's my second mum you know; dad has several wives, and Sirri needed looking after at first. She's aggressive to rotters in the same way you sought attention at first; she's a bit defensive and likes to get her retaliation in first. If you're polite she won't be anything but sweet to you!"

"WE don't disrespect elves" said Fred "We know how hard they work. Why doesn't Professor Snape free them?"

"Because not all elves want to be free" sighed Jade "Some are afraid of it; and also because freeing eves has been used as a punishment, some see it as shameful. The elves we inherited with the school are quite old mostly and they don't want to be free, they're too used to slavery. The ones my brother Erich inherited have been VERY downtrodden and are learning to be independent, and he hopes to free them, or at least some of them, one day: and the new ones we er, acquired in Russia have also been badly treated, though one at least, Lana, is quite feisty and I think they'll learn to be free. Vya, in your class is her daughter. And I expect you're helping her settle in? She likes to fag for me too you know; perhaps you should talk to her about working together."

Flo nodded seriously.

"Perhaps she and me can be special friends" she said wistfully.

"That would be really nice" said Jade firmly.

Flo did not really have a special friend; Rose Hubble and Kate Grant hung out with the girls of the First Peak Marauders even though they didn't Maraud, though they were spending more time with Flo since Sandalla acquired a twin in Svetlana. If Flo and Rose and Kate were friendly with Vya it would be a nice little group, and Silvina Brewer's own fault that she wasn't keen on being friendly. Silvina was an odd child, quite a cold fish and also disposed to argue that the sun set in the East if anyone claimed it set in the West if she was in one of her contrary moods. Even if Kate and Rose ended up special friends because they were both quidditch mad, Flo would still have Vya. It was ideal. Vya found making friends hard though. Jade said so.

"Vya has been knocked around by masters – humans – and treated badly by them all her life" she said "And she's finding it hard to trust. She trusts me; but she's a bit prickly. I think you ought to tell her about Lawrence and how dad was able to help him, because if she feels more on equal terms – that your family needed some help too – I think she'd unbend more. It'll be hard work befriending her; but I bet it'd be worth it. Worthwhile things aren't always easy, hmm?"

Flo nodded seriously.

Her brother was friendly with George Ingate – Severus had laughed and said, 'oh no, not another Fred and George' – but she wanted a special friend of her own.

And Jade was the wisest person in the world and well worth listening to!

The school was encouraged to get out of doors as often as possible before the harsh winter set in; and Flo asked Vya to walk with her and spent the walk telling Vya how wonderful Jade and her dad were.

Vya agreed; and whilst a mutual appreciation society is not the same as friendship it was a start and Vya thawed.

Soon they were agreeing to teach each other things, Flo to help Vya with academic work and Vya to teach Flo how to do housework properly. The sort of visitors that Ivan had generally had, had the sort of spoilt brats who would never dream of doing things to make their parents' lives easier; and Vya approved of Flo's desire for industry.

They stayed together talking when the crocodile broke up on the meadow, which was when they came across the muggle boy sobbing his heart out.

"What's wrong little boy?" demanded Flo.

"My goat has fallen down the cliff and I can't work out how to get her!" said the boy in the thick local accent.

Fortunately Flo had learned German well enough by magic as well as studying it the standard way to pick up the gist of what he said.

"Lower me down" said Vya "And if you hold him over, I can pass the silly creature up."

She appeared to the muggle child as just a rather slight human child; which disillusionment had been Severus' choice to put on the elves as well as on the goblins.

"Ooh, but you gracious ladies will get grubby!" he said.

"We wash" said Flo "Our clothes are easy to launder; our headmaster expects us to get grubby."

So saying she lowered Vya down to the terrified nanny, who had landed on a narrow ledge.

Vya was going to use a hovering charm to lift the goat she guessed, and make it look like she was lifting it with her arms.

It would hurt and frighten the silly creature less.

Flo hung tight to the boy and the goat came up, bleating and terrified; and he had her! And he had not noticed that for several feet of her ascent there had been no hands at all on her because he was concentrating on grabbing her.

The goat was heaved up over the lip, and the boy reached down for Vya.

She came up with a scramble to hide how light she was.

"Oh thank you gracious ladies!" he cried, bowing deeply.

"You're welcome" said Flo "Is it not what neighbours are for to help each other?"

It all added to the tales of the graciousness of the English at the school on the peak.

And the boy and his goat gambolled off to find the rest of the flock that he was minding.

Working together to help someone else also brought the two little girls closer together; and soon they were inseparable.

Which meant that they also went around with Fred and George; and had ready made partners for the Saturday night dances that Krait instituted in lieu of Saturday afternoon walks the instant the weather turned.

They had been lucky to get well into October before the bad weather hit, but hit it eventually did and suddenly, overnight with a massive blizzard.

Many a pupil woke, suddenly shivering, to find professors and house elves coming round with extra quilts and hot drinks for those who had woken too thoroughly or who were delicate.

Next morning elves told the children to lie in bed for half an hour while the castle heated up; in such a large pile even magic and magic fires took a little time to get it up to heat!

Even Madam Gimlett could not say if this was a result of Krait's accidental mini hurricane; but the weather here could be unpredictable save by magical means at the best of times; and Madam Gimlett had indeed predicted a change in weather in the middle of the week. It was just more severe and sudden than could have been expected.

The wolf animagi and Lynx used their alternate forms to check the forest for casualties in the form of charcoal burners or walkers, and Severus and Krait went down to the chalets on the Alm to see if anyone was in need.

The charcoal burners claimed to feel things like that in their bones; and the wolves found them busy leaving for the winter, having been glad to complete a last burn.

They had carts which converted to go on runners and were sufficient unto themselves whilst thanking the noble Zaubervolk for their concern.

The Almvolk were glad of offers of volunteers to break trail and help get their animals down; they had stayed as long as they might for the good grasses and herbs of the high pasture to give sustenance to their beasts, and had thought to come down at the end of the week.

"The good God does not like to be mocked" said one philosophically "We tempted Providence staying past the usual date."

"Rather, has not God sent a warning that now is the time to retire?" said Krait. "You and your beasts are unharmed; merely slightly discommoded. He will not forsake you."

"You are right, Gracious Lady" said the herdsman. "And grateful to Him we are too that he sends your aid."

Krait had an equivocal position concerning God.

Her treatment in the orphanage had been inclined to make an atheist of her; or to believe that God did not care. But the simple faith of these country people was a beautiful thing and made her more inclined to believe again. It was Christians who could be the problem; not God.

Sixth formers and professors who volunteered dressed warmly and in the nailed boots essential for winter walking in these regions; and went down by cable car and took the rack rail to the level of the Alm to help walk the animals down to the village. The blizzard had at least stopped though the sky was sullen; and there was an urgency to the move. The train would come down to the village to take them back up.

The blizzard struck again as they were most of the way down, and it has to be said that Severus surreptitiously used the 'Point me' spell to make sure he kept them on track.

It was hard, painful work, and the animals terrified and lowing in distress, and they had to be kept moving so as not to freeze.

And then they were in the village, and village folk rallying round, and hot soup and the dark local bread thrust into the hands of the volunteers.

Jade, at the request of Flo and Vya, asked after the goat boy; and was told that he returned to the village daily and so had been safe enough.

Jade thanked her informant, and promised to deliver thanks to her two juniors for their concern.

The wizarding folk were glad to get into hot, magically warmed baths and warm four poster beds.

It seemed odd however that though they were buffeted on the rack rail, and the snow swirled about the lower end of the cable car, they emerged through snowy cloud into brilliant sunshine as the cable car ascended!

The horn on which the castle was built was high enough to be above much of the weather; and as such was perfect for such delicate children as little Elsie Blackwood. She had been the first child Krait had flown to the moment the blizzard had struck and well covered with feather quilts had consequently not even woken and had taken no harm. Now she was playing outside – well wrapped – with the others, in the yard.

The Saturday night dancing was a warming activity.

Half the evening was spent with formal tuition in the steps since nobody had had a clue at the last Yule Ball; and Miss Bat played the piano in careful and slow tempo for the tuition. The second half was for free dancing to practice those steps with partners, or to watch for those who still felt that they had two left feet. It was less stressful than a ball; the partners were pupils in a painful process as much as if they were paired off in cauldron practice and so were not boys to be giggled at nervously in the same way.

With a bit of tuition, it was to be hoped that a Yule Dance would not be as stressful. There would still be sulks and problems over partners but perhaps less if everyone at least knew the steps. It was a bit hit and miss at Hogwarts too; the society families had dancing masters for their darlings in the holiday before the Yule Ball and there were academies for the less well off in wizarding centres like London and Nottingham and Birmingham. But even so not all learned. Krait thought that if this was successful it might be worth dropping a hint to Dumbledore.

The weather in Scotland in the latter half of the Yule term was not always a great thing to write home about, though the autumn was generally lovely.

Lessons in the SPRING term however, when pupils were cooped up inside with too much energy might be the very thing; for if they learned dancing from their earliest years at school, by the fourth they should be at least not totally incompetent.

And that was what they were doing here; teaching the smallest too, so that it should be second nature to them by the time they were eligible for a ball.

As Krait said, if they knew what their FEET were doing, they could concentrate on what their MOUTHS were doing and be less likely to quarrel over trivialities.

Of course there were problems.

Little Elsie Blackwood had to be watched because of her delicacy, and sent to sit down the moment she started looking peaked; for her health WAS a responsibility, and she still tired easily. Even with indoor activities she was vulnerable.

And in the fifth, the Tugwood twins were not above jeering at Lily Smethly, a quiet, shy child with two left feet. One could not dub Amy and Ellen Tugwood bullies; but they were certainly thoughtless and Krait felt it worth while summoning them to her office to tell off as bullies before they took their thoughtless and heavy teasing any further; for she had seen them at a distance firing stinging hexes at Lily's feet whilst laughing that it would 'help her to dance'.

It was the level of careless bullying that James Potter and his crowd would have thought funny and she asked James to advise her on whether being called bullies would get through.

The portrait flushed. The fact that the victim was named Lily also weighed with him.

"I reckon so" he said "We would have done something like that, you're right, to some swotty kid who wasn't a joiner; someone like our Sev. And been horrified to be called bullying over it. Go for it, Krait!"

So Krait went for it; and reduced the twins to sobs both by calling them bullies and by explaining how such thoughtless bullying by similarly ordinary people had driven at least two people to become Deatheaters.

She extracted from them a promise to apologise to Lily as well as setting them twenty repetitions of 'for the want of a nail' to encourage them to think before acting or speaking in an unkind fashion.

Jade helped coach the fourth years who were interested, as they would dance at the ball this year; for Jade had learned to dance long since.

However it was felt that providing a waltz tune by singing 'After the Ball is Over' was just a trifle gloomy.

"I mean, what lyrics!" said Gloria Cantripp in disgust "I mean to say, 'many the heart is aching if you could see them all, many the hopes that have vanished, after the ball'" what sort of encouragement is that to us fourth years to actually want to attend the Yule Ball? Is this the act of a responsible head girl?"

Jade grinned.

"As responsible as telling you it's all going to be dewey-eyed wonder my good child. Look here, don't look on either song or Ball as anything important, only as a laugh. Last year two male Marauders at Hogwarts went together with one of them in drag and an outrrrragious Fronch ac-CENT and the other in the loudest, most vulgar robes; and they had the best fun of the lot I bet because they didn't worry or take it seriously. One of them – the one who wore drag – wants to get off with my kid sister but he's got too much sense to push it too much. They're only a year older than you lot after all! You may have to snog a few toads before you find your prince, or you can just hold back from that until you're certain. I did. And I'm none the worse for it. Madam Granger went out with a few boys before she settled down with Professor Ronald; mum never even LOOKED at anyone but dad. People are different. And it's no good having unrealistic outlooks on the BIG ROMANCE of attending balls. When you leave school you might meet someone at a ball who becomes the love of your life; there again you might be walking down Diagon Alley and walk into someone who'd be too tongue tied to ask you to dance at a ball but has the manners to apologise for walking into a lady and buy her a cup of tea. I guess what I'm saying is, treat dancing and balls as fun not assign any great expectations to them, whatever the hopes and aspirations of your fond mamas. Just because Balls are traditional marriage marts don't mean you have to shop in that market; window shopping is fine too!"

"I don't mean to get marrried, I want a career!" said Emily Grant.

"Nothing to stop you doing both; Madam Granger manages quite adequately, she was holding down a very high powered ministry post that she gave up to come and help dad by teaching Arithmancy" said Jade.

"Why did she give it up?" demanded Emily.

"For one thing she wanted babies as well as a job and teaching gives her more time to enjoy a family; and for another she wanted to help dad because of the close knit family feeling of those with the scar; and for another she fancies being 'Professor' said Jade. "Like me, she's an intellectual snob. And she's a damn good dancer too; and Ron – uh, Professor Ronald – avoids dancing if he can do so. He hates it! They were class mates; it's another way of meeting boys and making lasting connections. Anyway, I like the song because it makes me think of a girl called Pansy Parkinson and it's my way of pointing and giggling" she added.

"You're quite awful really Jade" giggled Irmi.

Jade smiled fondly on her prospective step daughter.

"It's taken this long for you to notice?"

The wizarding world, several generations behind the muggle world in some respects – and several hundred in some others – still danced the gavotte and Jade used the gavotte from the Gondoliers; which pleased her pupils far more and had them chuckling over the instructions included in the song. And then she let them waltz again to 'take a pair of sparkling eyes' from the same operetta.

Singing for them allowed her to tailor the speed to her pupils' abilities which using a gramophone would not; although Jade did have a gramophone. She planned on using that once they had their steps a little more certain!

It filled in the leisure hours of wet days anyway!

Krait also decreed the dancing of country dances as well as ballroom dances, for pleasure and exercise, and Leneli shyly suggested teaching some Swiss country dances too, which Krait happily agreed to! And if some of the boys scoffed at the idea of dancing, it was at least a way of taking exercise in poor weather when they could not get outside and they took it gratefully enough.

Of course when the sun shone they went out; even if that only meant flying games around the courtyard because the great sea of cloud lowered below them.

And then Hallowe'en was on them.

The party was to be fancy dress.

Every pupil was provided with a copy of the 'Wizarding Times' – large sheets but unyeilding – and 'The Daily Prophet' – tabloid sized and rather limp – a reel of that useful muggle invention, masking tape, and a ball of string and told to make their own costumes. Charms to change colour were permitted but no transfiguration save to make small accessories.

Rose Hubble ingeniously folded ribs from the 'Times' on which to laminate the 'Prophet' charmed to be orange as a pumpkin which she hung on a harness of plaited string, the more easily to discard when it became cumbersome. AHHa and friends made excellent wolf masks and declared themselves as werewolves; several older girls went no further than papier-mâché noses to be hags with cloaks. Sebastian Cantripp used the masking tape to make long canines and turned the newspapers into a flowing cloak black on the outside and lined with red, which would have been a more successful vampire had not his false teeth kept falling out. Angelica and friends charmed their own skin to a grave-like pallor and made raggedy dresses and straggly hair as a group of banshees; and Seagh came as a dementor – which as Jade said was just like Seagh – with his pipes concealed under the flowing black robe of paper to moan intermittently. Fred and Flo, Vya and George came as a forest with fringed foliage in layers.

Several less imaginative souls came as various famous people, Quidditch players or Merlin or Nimue or the like; and Bellamy arrived without apparent costume declaring himself to be the scariest creature on the planet, a muggle.

"Ten out of ten for gall and ingenuity and minus several hundred for industry" said Severus.

The most ingenious costume had to be declared the combined efforts of the Muggle Marauders in combination with Milos Milic and Leneli Accola; who between them were a dragon. They had made a long tail from concertina'd paper and a box-like constrution for the body, a fearsome head that lasted until they had done their circuit about the Great Hall before it fell of, and slightly tired looking wings that actually flapped to the tireless pumping of the Lowther twins. Rory and Randolph drove the body, Leneli was the tail and Milos nodded the head and worked the jaw, a not entirely successful apparatus but pretty impressive for them only having the one day to construct in.

The third were awarded a hundred points for that effort, and other awards were made; and several bars of chocolate for those more eye-catching costumes which was more gratefully received than points!

Having discarded their costumes party games were the order of the evening, bobbing for apples, jumping the candlesticks, and for the older girls, mirror divining, a game put on by some of the male professors who bobbed up wearing different makeup and transfigurations for different faces to appear in the dark mirror as the girls recited the supposed prophecy poem. Nobody really believed such prophesy games as this or jumping the candlesticks any more than muggles who played the same games did; it was harmless fun.

And then Severus blessed the dead spirits of the place and poured a libation into a glass goblet and smashed it for Merope to be able to partake of the ritually killed offering; and toasted her good substance.

And then it was the feast.

They had hog roast and pumpkin preserves, pickled gherkins and roast parsnips and carrots and apple sauce and thick slices of new wholemeal bread for the juices and finished with pumpkin and apple pie.

The pupils of Prince Peak went to bed replete and happy.

Professor Snape was a most excellent deviser of parties!

That Yule term exams would start in a week did nothing to dampen their spirits!

The exams were of most moment to the children who had started this term, either as weevils or higher up the school. Victor Crabbe was perhaps the most anxious to have recalled to mind all he had learned and to be up with his fellows; he was working assiduously as well as keeping half an eye on the weevil Engelram Langstaff as Jade had asked; and had asked permission a couple of times to take the boy for walks as the fifth were permitted out on their own and, with permission, to take a junior.

Engelram had been gratified but a bit suspicious; and Victor had been up front. He told the younger child that he was having a new start and that he had behaved badly because of having to deal with a spoilt brat of a brother Engelram's age; who had turned out to be actually mentally damaged from a cursed book.

"You being his age, and having been a bit….. well difficult, it seemed that maybe I should be a big brother to you" said Victor.

Engelram opened his mouth to disclaim the need for a big brother and shut it again.

Getting to go out on walks other than in crocodile was rather pleasant. And he was trying to learn manners too.

Finding out how Walter had behaved – he asked tentatively – Engelram discovered that although he lacked the truly cruel streak that had grown in Walter there were a distressingly large number of features of the other boy that had been a part of his own behaviour.

As Jade had thought, the half an eye was remarkably good for both.

Nobody would mind if Elsie Blackwood did badly in exams; her parents just wanted her to have the fun of going to school with her sister and if she learned anything it was a bonus. She had however been fairly well prepared by a competent tutor and was keeping up fairly well with her class. Yukya too was keeping up; by sheer determination.

Leneli, the year below, had help from Milos and the muggle marauders, who pointed out that they had needed to catch up an awful lot themselves and studying together was far jollier; and she might perhaps have been by nature a solitary child but it was difficult not to warm to the kindness of the boys who involved her in their doings.

In the second, Svetlana was just overjoyed to be able to use magic; she was assured of a comfortable home no matter what. But Svetlana was a hard worker and intended to give as much back to her new family as she could by working hard.

And as for Vya, she had as much determination as her cousin Yukya as well as help from Flo.

As for the first, Antti Laakkonen was heard to declare that it was wholly unfair that one who worked hard as he did and did not lark about should be sitting below such as BaHH and his cronies in class, who did little else BUT lark about. BaHH, Reinulf, Arbrek and Batty – as Bathsheba had now been dubbed – had the widest knowledge of poetry in the whole school, having managed to surpass even AHHa and co in the number of impots they had received in their first term; and they had also managed to assimilate the most knowledge of their class simply by reading ahead in text books to see if there was anything useful for their next planned mischief. Indeed Batty and Reinulf sat at the top of the class, above such hard working worthies as Blaise Paddock and Roseli Accola with the other two in the gang about equal with Engelram, who had thrown himself into work, and above the worthy but not academic Villeneuve twins and Eve Cherrytree, who did only as much work as she had to not to get called to book. Poor Antii was on a par with Eve; for he was well meaning but the most disorganised boy, who often had his work marked down for having failed to hand it all in, or for failing to get all the right books to check for references. As he spurned offers of help from BaHH and co, seeing them as more disorganised than himself just for the light-hearted and anarchic way they set about their own work he did not improve this in himself. Even so, he did not do badly.

They were actually accounted a rather cleverer year than most; and none of the staff anticipated having to send a bad report home for any of them now young Langstaffe's behaviour was much improved! He had been permitted to return to the dormitory once he had learned a habit of tidiness; and Sirri had praised him for the efforts he had made.

After all, one gave credit where it was due.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was Batty Dubois who required the first dose of the year of the snow-blindness curing potion for deciding that she knew better than her professors and taking off the snow goggles when the school was out for a hilarious game of snowballs one bright day.

By the time that she noticed that her sight was red and swimmy it was too late to put her goggles back on and she howled in real terror.

Her cronies soon came to her rescue; and her older sister Bethany, who clipped her younger sibling around the ear when she found out what was wrong.

"You double-dyed IDIOT!" she said. "Know better than the people who've only been out here for ages do you? Cuh, you deserve to be left the three days it used to take to cure it before Professor Snape invented a potion!"

"Th – three DAYS?" said Batty.

"That's right! And for blatant disobedience too, and not just silly carelessness, if I was Professor Snape I'd leave you to wallow in misery and NOT give you any!" said Bethany.

She was not, however, Professor Snape; who administered both potion and a severe talking to and did not permit Batty out with her fellows again but condemned her to spend the rest of the afternoon copying out the sonnet 'On his Blindness' ten times to teach her not to be such a disobedient little fool again.

Batty promised, in a very small voice, to be less certain of her own wisdom in future in the light of the superior knowledge of others.

The others missed their companion sorely but at least she was going to be all right; and it was difficult not to throw themselves back into such sports as tobogganing.

The new ones had never partaken of winter sports, but they were all eager to learn, though most expected to toboggan on sleds, not the way Lilith Snape did by transfiguring into a penguin to slide down the mountain side on her tummy.

Krait called her to book and threatened her with being sent in for being so lax so close to muggles.

Lilith rather sulkily turned back and cast _accio skis_ so she could show off how good she was at skiing instead.

"I am so sorely tempted to send her to Hogwarts come September" said Krait to Severus.

Severus looked startled.

"She's only just turned eight!" he said. Her birthday party had been the day after Hallowe'en and riotous fun had been had by the youngest to celebrate it.

"I know; it'd be two years too young. But I think she needs the discipline of school; and she's bored. She needs stretching."

Severus laughed ruefully.

"According to Seagh, that would be stretching on a rack; she turned all his shoes into rabbits and they bred massively in his boot locker."

"Pest" said Krait "You see? That's second year transfiguration, at least the other way round is, turning pairs of rabbits into slippers; and she does switching spells without blinking. A little bit of having to write the essays as well as doing the magic might do her the world of good; not to mention having to feed the blast-ended Pekes."

Severus grinned.

"Hagrid can be the end at times" he said. "Well, we can talk to Albus; and if he'll give it a go, she can always be withdrawn if she hasn't settled after a term; or repeat a year if need be. It'll also give her the chance to be away from Tarquin, Sevvy and Richard; to have them significantly down the school. And allow Tark and Sevvy to NOT be so much in her shadow; for as it stands those two would be in her year."

"Yes; and it's not good for them to just be in the habit of being Lilith's cohorts" said Krait. "I know it might have been fun for her to be with Bryony Nuffield as another Parselmouth; but that's life."

"There'll be a couple of Lucius' brats and relatives in that class" said Severus. "And shyness isn't actually something that afflicts her!"

That was something that Krait agreed to fervently.

The Snapes were not the only ones wrestling with family trouble.

Percy and Ron had a question for Severus.

"Severus, how well do you know a Garjala Gan Golgo?" asked Percy.

"Garjala? Well as a child I was never sure if I wanted to laugh at her latest exploit or strangle her" said Severus.

"What like Fred and George?" asked Ron.

"Yes remarkably like Fred and George" said Severus "She invented clockwork toys that she sold to them in I think her third year; the swooping cursers, the self-exploding bed-spreads and the random clockwork tweeter."

"They're hers? Wow!" said Ron.

"RON! Just because she can invent toys doesn't make her a suitable in-law!" said Percy.

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Not a touch of racism, Percy?" he asked.

Percy flushed.

"No sir! It's not that she's a goblin, just that I don't know anything about her and nor does mum; and Fred and George both want to marry her both together and mum's having conniptions!"

"Yes, but then Molly has conniptions over almost anyone who wants to marry one of her precious boys" said Severus "Garjala is a good girl deep down; she's full of mischief and fun and she's highly intelligent. She could walk into any position in the ministry – I believe her father wanted her to, or to be an auror – but she wants to do her own thing. Lydia mentioned she'd been a bit stuffy last year because her father's ambitions were making her unhappy; but isn't she working in the Weasley Wizard Wheezes research establishment?"

"Yes; and I say that if Fred and George haven't got to know her well enough working with her, they won't ever" said Ron. "I met her and I thought she was all right. Mum just gets the heeby-jeebies if she hasn't done the picking. And how is she to pick for Fred and George without that she finds twin girls who could cope with them, which wouldn't be many?"

"He has a point" said Percy "Fred and George are quite likely to make an apple pie bed in their marriage bed just because."

Severus laughed.

"Yes, that I can imagine" he said dryly. "Well she can only marry one of them officially however they work things in private."

"Oh they have THAT sussed" said Percy "Apparently it was her idea; she marries one of them who's addressed throughout the ceremony by the name of the other so she marries one in name and the other in body."

"Well that's a decent compromise" said Severus "I can't see why it shouldn't work; you can't really have Fred without George or vise versa; they even finish sentences for each other. I'm not sure they don't have a joined soul. And it'd take a special girl to accept that. Garjala's one of the few that I'd have said was flexible enough. The only other two I could think of are Lydia and Mei Chang; I can't see Jade putting up with it. She has a strong streak of conventionality in her brilliant little mind."

Percy laughed ruefully.

"So have I!" he said "And that's what shocked me! Not her race, if they had announced they were marrying TWIN goblins I shouldn't have turned a hair!"

"No; I apologise, Percy" said Severus "Your efforts in getting the way history was looked at has been a great boon to goblins and was very objective."

"Yeah, well, there's a difference between supporting goblin rights and having one as an in-law" said Ron. "But she's all right I think. Can you talk to mum?"

Severus sighed.

"Well I can call in and see your parents; I was planning on staying here for the holidays to watch out for Odessa activity" he said.

"That's a point" said Percy "Well, the twins can handle their own affairs; so long as we can tell mum YOU think she's okay?"

"Certainly" said Severus "I'd say that she and the twins all deserved each other."

"Hmm, well I think I might not put it that way" said Percy. Severus laughed.

"Oh I would if I were you; Molly will wonder what's wrong if I didn't make a snide comment about her sons."

Percy shared a letter with Ron and Severus a few days later that came by a rather buffeted owl complaining about the weather out here.

"Mum met Garjala who did exactly the right thing by asking if she could call her mum or mother as she didn't remember her own mother" said Percy "Mum took the 'poor motherless little thing' to her heart straight away and is busy organising Golgo within an inch of his life and taking him to task for trying to force his ambitions on his poor orphaned child. She may be dubious about the propriety of the situation but she says when Garjala said that you can't separate Fred and George without hurting one, and therefore hurting both she had to acknowledge the truth and bless the girl for her wisdom in realising that. Mum IS a bit racist, though she'd deny it hotly; and is trying I think, to fall over herself proving how ecumenical she can be."

"Poor Molly, she can be a little conventional" said Severus. "You can always say I made comments about it only to be expected from someone who has relatives who are accountants; THAT'll make her feel more inclined to back the strangest of unions!"

"Sev mate, how long have you been manipulating our mum?" demanded Ron.

"Since a while after Krait started to, by working out that your mum and dad had eloped from Hogwarts at the same age as Krait was when she got pregnant with Lilith" said Severus equably. "So that there was one person at least who couldn't censure her. I watched; and learned."

Ron made a non-committal noise.

"Well, we needed to get round the grown ups in those days with their over-protectiveness. I am glad you don't try to wrap our kids here in cotton wool the way Albus tried to."

"Being in loco parentis I have to say the temptations to so wrap them are great….but I recognise that without the help of those who were prepared to fight it might have gone hard; and they might then have been in the care of Odessa instead. And THAT were a worse betrayal."

"Yeah" agreed Ron "Y'know, since Krait made you lighten up you've been the most reasonable grown up we ever knew; well, you and Padfoot both,"

"Thank you Ron; and that too reminds me how much I miss Sirius. And how wonderful that we should have come to be so close!"

"Yes; like Perce and me" said Ron, punching Percy lightly on the arm.

The Weasleys were a good, close family; and it was on their loving closeness that Severus based his own concept of family, and wished the same for his own children.

Severus wrote to Arthur and Molly congratulating them that their twin sons had found the next best things to twins to marry in the person of a girl who would accept their remarkable closeness and unity of spirit.

"You will find it pleasant too that Garjala's closest friend at school was Fleur's little sister Gabrielle" he added "So she knows some other members of your extended family. I believe Ginny suffered from the jokes and japes of the child and her friends during Ginny's year as Head Girl but I believe Garjala did learn some reticence as she grew up, though I suspect that Fred and George hope not too mush as I hear she is one of their chief designers. Try not to let her father irritate you too much when you meet him; he is, I believe, a frustrated intellectual that led him to his noisy activist activities. I usually speak to him of academic subjects on the occasions I can't avoid meeting him – he reads most of the learned magazines and tries to understand the articles therein – so perhaps Arthur could get him onto a relatively neutral subject like the enchanting of muggle flying machines which I suspect he might be interested to debate. Lucius handles him very adroitly by flattering his ego over how goblins are essential and indispensable in interfacing between wizards and the need to take more notice of muggle technologies. For what it's worth I pass this on! Garjala is a high spirited girl but I cannot say I know any real harm of her; and she is a kindly girl who will go out of her way to help others even though it is more likely to be jinxing bullies into a ball and telling the bullied firmly to stand up for themselves than in any terribly practical way. That she will learn with years. Fred and George were no different at her age as I recall; one assumes they have learned some discretion in the meantime, at least one hopes so."

He grinned to himself. Molly would be deeply suspicious if he did not add something snide!

Molly was mildly indignant, when she got the letter, over the aspersions Severus cast on her beloved twins, though deep down she had to admit he was almost justified. What she was truly gratified over was that Severus wrote of the girl's attributes of kindness and high spirits and the only mention of goblins was in passing over Golgo's activities in the field of goblin rights; and no snide comments nor censure that her sons had chosen a girl who was not human. Indeed Severus seemed entirely indifferent!

Well Fleur was not fully human either; only as a part Veela her difference did not show as much. If Fleur's little sister had been friendly with Garjala that too was good, because the Delacourts were rather a fastidious family; and that meant they were more likely to accept a friend of one of their children in their oldest child's new family.

Molly did not mind TOO much what other people thought but she did dislike unpleasantness.

Arthur laughed over the letter and said that he could feel sorry for Golgo if he was intelligent and had missed out on a good education and no doubt they would find plenty to talk about. Arthur was sufficiently easy going he could get on with most people.

Molly hoped it would be all right and that her sons would not be attacked by those who hated goblins and those who supported them. They were public figures as Lucius was; but whilst no-one in their right mind would take on Lucius, attacking the twins or their workers was another matter.

Perhaps she ought to ask Lucius and his wives to the wedding as he had hosted the last wedding of one of her offspring, and it might send a message that Lucius supported her sons. Molly despised nepotism and cronyism as a general thing; but for the safety of her sons that was different!

And there was no doubt that Lucius had mellowed.

Severus asked Lilith if she would like to go up to Hogwarts a couple of years early if he could clear it with Professor Dumbledore.

Lilith squealed with delight and hugged him as hard as she could.

"And learn things properly? Oh yes daddy!" she cried. "I can meet all sorts of interesting people too and find out LOTS!"

So much for worrying about her feeling that she was being sent away.

The Yule exams came and went; more or less unnoticed since Severus slipped them in as class tests to avoid undue stress amongst his pupils.

The results were up on the previous year in terms of grades; the first simply because they were fairly academically good and each year otherwise surpassing their previous year by having had more time with the stricter teaching disciplines to improve. One might actually say that the school now had an excellent academic standard; those who were taking OWLs this year would have covered what may be considered the majority of a proper syllabus, and those taking NEWTs – not counting the ones transplanted from Hogwarts – had caught up a lot and might be expected to do no worse than the average Hufflepuff. It would be the next year's NEWTs that were the acid test, those who had taken OWLs after almost two years of decent teaching and one year with a full complement of teachers. And all of them had taken seven OWLs or more!

Severus was tied up writing end of term reports.

He considered Bellamy Hallow-Hellibore and wrote, because it was true,

"Bellamy is trying."

He sighed and added,

"Bellamy means extremely well. As he gets older I have no doubt that he will not only manage to mean extremely well with a little less enthusiasm and a little more efficiency but may even manage to do it at a volume that does not damage the eardrums."

BaHH, seeing smoke escaping from the head girl's room had filled a bucket of water and had thrown it haphazardly whilst shrieking 'FIRE!' at the top of his young lungs over a fire that was smouldering for having had green logs put on it by the well-meaning but not intensely efficient Flo Visick.

As BaHH had not looked first he had also doused Jade with icy water as she knelt by the fire attempting to rapidly dry the wood with spells.

What he SHOULD have done, if he suspected a fire, was to have rung the fire bell and told an adult. As Severus had told him; and so had Jade who was furious at being doused in a cold room.

"Now I'm colder, wet, kippered and unlikely to get warm at all!" she had shouted at the boy. "Can't you use the senses and the few wits you were born with?"

BaHH was devastated; Jade was his hero, having healed his back as she had healed Angelica's.

Yes, reflected Severus, 'means extremely well' was the perfect phrase for him.

What to write about young Langstaffe?

Ah yes.

"Engelram came to school with a few rather strange preconceived ideas but has made excellent progress and has every likelihood of becoming a young gentleman of the kind who will be welcome anywhere. He has learned to fit in with his fellows and I am very pleased with him. His academic work too has been excellent."

The rest were more or less easy, as he was able to easily praise the hard work of all; though he had to mention that Antti could perhaps prepare a little better and might find himself a little less stressed if he had taken the aid and advice offered by his fellows.

The older ones had only an end of year report; the first year had a termly report to show how they were fitting in; also those who came new in upper years.

He was glad to write for Elsie Blackwood,

"Elsie is a hard worker and has achieved far more than I had anticipated on seeing how pulled she looked when she first arrived. The mountain air has wrought wonders to her health and energy, though of course we must still be careful; but I am glad to say she has been well enough to involve herself in mischief as well as her excellent academic achievement." Elsie had achieved 'E' across the board for her work; for a child taught at home and who had never even studied all the subjects she was now taking an impressive average. Severus added, "And I am certain that her averages will continue to improve. She has the capacity – so long as her health holds – to be a straight 'O' student. She has also made some healthy friendships of young people who watch her colour and do not try her health. Her parents should be very proud of her."

Elsie was attached to Irmi, Adrian and Sebastian; sometimes joined by Emily Grant who was rather more madcap and inclined to be more of a boy than her big brothers, one of whom was the Hellibore's Triwizard champion.

It had been Emily who had suggested that as it was too nasty to go out to ski, there was nothing wrong with transfiguring the main staircase into a ski slope and skiing down that; which the entire of the fourth bar Ruth Blaine had proceeded to take up, earning the lot of them, delicate Elsie included, one hundred repetitions of 'staircases have treads on them for the convenience of their saner users' set by Percy Weasley when he came to run down stairs with a pile of books that hid its new nature and went involuntarily tobogganing on his backside.

As Elsie had been giggling quite as loudly as all the rest, Severus had every expectation of making a normal schoolgirl out of her, delicate or no!

Fortunately Percy had been more injured in dignity than in person; and he had also docked the pocket money of the culprits to pay for a new pair of trousers to replace those that their antics had friction worn the seat out of.

It was naughty Sebastian who privately nicknamed him 'Professor WHHEEEEsley'

Severus grinned.

It had been a foolish and potentially dangerous game but no harm had been done and he would have given a lot to have seen Percy sliding down the snowy stairs on his outraged dignity. Even Percy was now telling it as a story against himself!

It was more or less the worst mischief that had occurred during the term though AHHa had been set ten reps of Kipling's verse that begins 'I keep six honest serving men' changed to the male sex for the misuse of 'one million Hows, two million Wheres and seven million Whys' when Severus had caught the boy in the staff quarters in his own bedroom looking for secret passages, where, as he had pointed out, as a retired marauder, he had already looked and there was such a thing as excessive zeal and misplaced curiosity.

Hence AHHa had been temporarily christened 'Elephant's child' by the Snapes and nothing would do the second but they be read the tale of how the elephant got his trunk; which had degenerated into reading the whole of the junior school all the 'Just So' stories.

They were just starting on 'Jungle Book' which could be guaranteed, with its sequels, to last all the bad weather if eked out well.

Odd to think that he had never really read Kipling until Krait started quoting so much and he had read some to please her and understand the references; the fellow almost HAD to be a Parselmouth and his understanding hinted at being a sensitive at least.

And the fourth and above were choosing their partners for the Yule Ball; the fourth had three boys of its own and Sebastian and Adrian drew straws to see who took Irmi and who took Elsie. Yukya the elf asked Gloria Cantripp who had no prejudices and merely giggled that if he did any wild cossack dances, being Russian, she was out of there!

Evangeline Chaunter and Deborah Pursel asked the Lowther twins of the third who asked what was in it for them and had to be bribed with chocolate frogs to be prepared to make idiots of themselves a year before they had to; which they promptly shared around the rest of their set.

The fifth were handicapped in only having two boys, Ulrich and Victor. Ulrich was taking Helga Von Strang and Victor asked Lily Smethley.

He saw Severus look askance at him, for Lily was the shy one that would have been his previous prey; and he flushed and went to see the Head in his office.

"I – I'm not pursuing Lily" he stammered "Only she's the only one I don't dislike faintly. She's a nice girl, you know; and – well, I wanted some conversation with a girl at a ball to – to try to have a more meaningful friendship than just flirting and such."

Severus nodded.

"Thank you for coming to explain that to me, Victor. Lily's been rather picked on by some of the girls for having two left feet – she does I'm afraid – and she's a bit vulnerable. Be extra careful, hmm?"

Victor nodded vehemently.

"I told her I wanted to go to the ball with someone who doesn't giggle" he said "I told her that straight, I didn't use any lines on her."

Severus sighed.

"Just remember lad, a man who tells it straight to a girl is such a rarity she might still fall for you. And unless you plan to pursue that in a proper fashion, you should watch for the signs – I'm sure you know them – and back off accordingly. By the by, I hear that your brother is responding well to treatment since the aurors found the book?"

Victor nodded eagerly.

"What an awful thing to do to a family, to try to tear it apart through its youngest! Dad wrote that it was someone who believed that Granddad had stiffed his father over some deal or other; I mean, how petty is that? I think that the aurors are planning to prosecute and I agree; doing that to any kid is wrong on so many levels!"

"It is; and I fear there are only too many people that bear certain surnames traditionally of Slytherin House who can be that petty and that wrong because of the insidious poison of Tom Riddle. It had slipped into being a house of some selfishness even before his time; but his influence made it worse. Anyone with a surname like Crabbe, Malfoy, Bullivant, Bulstrode, Burke, Avery and so on who can pull away and be ambitious without being nasty or petty is doing well; and I have to say what I've seen of your efforts are making me proud of you. I have written as much to your parents; and that I shall keep you with my family for the holidays to enable them to have more freedom to visit Walter. It isn't for that at all; sometimes I tell lies to parents. It's to give you a better chance of having a happy holidays. Your parents have a lot of unlearning to do over having a perfect baby and an older son they think little of; and I fear that with the chance to blame the worse aspects on this book, they may never unlearn."

Victor nodded soberly.

"I don't actually think I'll ever have a close relationship with my parents" he said "when my father first found out about the book he wrote and as good as accused ME of having given it to Walter – as if at five years old I'd have known what such a thing was – before the book itself was unearthed and he recalled from whom it had come. But I fancy he was disappointed not to be able to blame me."

Severus sighed and dropped an arm round the boy's shoulders.

"Well then, to all intents and purposes I am your father" he said. "And I am proud of you; and proud of the way you've handled young Langstaffe. Thank you for explaining about young Lily."

Victor made his bow and left.

It was so good having someone to be proud of him!

The combined sixth had only six boys between them, and then only if one counted Tony Queach; and Jade suggested that they all go together rather than have partners and just take turns at wearing out the boys.

It was considered the solution with the greatest dignity; for the staff preferred not to be dance partners this year as a formal thing. They would each dance with a selection of girls to help keep things going with a swing but would not partner them.

And at least from next year the numbers would start to even up, without the necessary inducement of chocolate frogs!

The Yule Ball started with a party that the whole school was involved in, with a lot of riotous games of a traditional sort like hoodman blind, musical chairs, hunt the thimble and turn the trencher – the whole staff had put their heads together to sort out forfeits – and hilarious fun was had watching Jade hop backwards the length of the hall and Randolph Wright recite a nursery rhyme of his choice whilst drinking a glass of water. The decorations were simple but effective with evergreens and tinkling bells and everlasting icicles that Jade and Seagh had enchanted to play delightful carillons like glockenspiels of ice, mindful of how well that had sounded at the Yule Ball David Fraser had organised at the last Triwizard. The Prince Peak Ball was early to permit Jade and friends to go to Durmstrang for the Yule Ball that all the contestants were to attend; and the pupils were to finish lessons early. Which fact did NOT discommode them at all.

Jade managed two dances with her Wulf; she had been holding back a little for they were to do the deep joining over the holidays and she had not wanted to get too premature.

Dancing with him was wonderful; and would give her strength to get through the tediously Germanic celebrations.

On the whole, a good time was had by all; the lower school, dismissed to bed after supper; and even the upper school who found – on the whole – all those Saturday practises had paid off and made dancing a pleasure more than a chore.

And then Jade, Severus and cohorts were off to Durmstrang; lacking only Lynx, who argued that if Lionel had NOT managed to prevent Achille coming she might just kill him; and that besides she wanted to take her baby back home as term was essentially over.

Severus had given way under two such excellent reasons.

The decorations at Durmstrang did not even approach those that David had organised, Jade was smug to note.

Of course David had the help of fey magic; but the decorations lacked imagination being no more than greenery with golden baubles and a few fairies and floating candles. They had attempted lavish in terms of the gleaming golden ornaments and had succeeded in producing an effect that Jade thought ludicrously baroque.

"What do you think of our decorations?" demanded one of the more sneering girls.

"Hmmm" said Jade "I'd say it exceeds expectations in opulence to produce a counterpoint to the deficiencies in taste and elegance."

"She aye said she doesnae think it's sae braw" translated Seagh in a manner that required translation itself to the German girl.

The champions had an afternoon in which to pick a partner, for they were to lead the dancing; and Jade promptly asked the Spanish master of Study of Magical Beasts.

"Ah and why not? You have fire, you and the boy Lionel, not like one expects of the English!" he said.

"It was rather a spectacular quite, wasn't it?" said Jade.

His face brightened; she knew the word, she could pronounce it too; and she was also kissed on each cheek.

"Ah, so few people appreciate the art – it is not a sport but an ART – of bullfighting!" he said.

Jade did not appreciate it in the least but at least he had seemed unaffected by the sneering gloom of this dire place and that was why she had fixed on him. And if he wanted to talk bullfighting it would add to her relatively meagre knowledge of comparative magic. To appreciate that the killing of the bull was a ritual not deliberate cruelty meant a step aside from the English mind set; but she listened as Orlando Carcano described how a bull for the ring is pampered for eight years until it is in its prime, not slaughtered before it is two as is custom for beef bullocks, and was prepared to accept that perhaps the Spanish bull had not much worse a death than one destined for the terror of the slaughterhouse. It passed the time.

Anett had chosen to dance with Mortimer Bane; and Jade wondered how THAT would go down. Hedda Schrempf was glowering; but quickly decided that she had a headache when Severus went over to ask her to dance.

Someone had told her he was a legilimens no doubt!

Lionel asked Sylvia to dance, claiming to have stories of her cousin Maud Langstaffe that would turn her hair white; and Sylvia laughed and said that THAT was highly unlikely as Maude also had a cousin called Rose.

Timothée chose a rather colourless looking Durmstrang girl who was not one of the champions; and Miles Grant picked Mei Chang.

Generally speaking most of the other contestants stuck to people they knew; and the Hellibore boys mixed rather uneasily in with the other English schools.

The music was played by a brass orchestra that played festive dance numbers with rather more German efficiency than with feeling; which as Jade said was an awful shame since Germany had produced a lot of very good composers and Austria wasn't shy of a few too. The music was by a modern German wizard and had a distinctly military feel. Jade listened to a couple of numbers and was heard to mutter,

"This isn't a band, it's a declaration of war!"

Consequently, and having got bored, she took over the orchestra's instruments and enchanted them to play Strauss with a bit more verve and élan than previously.

The 'Beautiful Blue Danube' and 'Tritsch-Trasch Polka' and the like went down with a bit more gusto than the rather heavy compositions of one who was presumably pro Odessa.

The band was filled with consternation and indignation and would have left in outrage had not Jade also thoughtfully glued them to their seats.

The instruments performed merrily enough whether they were touching them or no after all.

As there was no wand work involved, Madam Bacsó did not know who to blame; apart from, collectively, the English. It was most impolite! She was conveniently forgetting the gross impoliteness of choosing so nationalistic a band; and that the maxim of an English gentleman is that he knows exactly when to stop being one. As does an English lady.

It may be said that, apart from the band, a better time was had for the jollier music; and even the Germans lightened up a little.

Still, Jade was glad when it was over; and they might go home to Austria!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Wulf held Jade close and kissed her passionately.

They had had a small, private wedding with just the family and Prowling Marauders present, with Lilith and Irmi as bridesmaids and now she was his wife!

The deep joining was the priority; and naturally both were nervous.

"You will find some not so nice things about me, my Wulf" said Jade "For though I had no choice, I – you will not be the first person to know me sexually."

He held her.

"My dear, my dear, all I care is that someone has hurt you!" he said "Who has done this?"

Jade shrugged.

"I don't know any names….. they were the men that came to tickle and touch and hurt, the tickling to make us laugh so they could take photos….. I was only four so I don't really know."

He stared.

"FOUR?" he said.

She nodded.

"Then HE – the man who sired us – killed our mummy, I think looking back it was because she found out what he was doing with us and she tried to stop him. I'm afraid my memories of our poor little mummy are a bit hazy" she said sadly "I hoped the joining might help me see her better….. mum and dad have been mum and dad for so long….."

Wulf held her to him. No wonder Jade was sometimes so much older than her years; even her earliest life had contained horrors that no child should see!

They knelt together and he took her hands.

"I love you, Jade; and I look forward to being a part of you" he said.

Jade smiled up at him. How beautiful she was, he thought! She had not the almost chocolate-box prettiness of her sister Lydia but her oval face with its big expressive eyes were to Wulf's mind the loveliest face in the world!

And then as their eyes met they plunged into each other with legilimensy beyond legilimensy to explore all that each of them was; to help Jade see her dead mother's face clearly, to sort through and deal with all the horror of the orphanage and Krait the only solid loving constant that had been in her life since mummy wouldn't get up from the floor; of Krait, then Augusta, teaching the little girls to make light on their finger tips because she couldn't save them from punishment but she could make it more bearable. And how the time of terror, the fight against Voldemort, was paradise in comparison because however much fear there was that mum and dad might die, there was still the fact of having been loved and knowing that they would get to stay at Hogwarts. Then the fear for dad and mum and the baby, nothing to do with Voldemort but a wicked girl who had spilled Eastern Dragon's heart powder; and how tiny Lilith had been, how protective Jade had felt, always felt towards her snaky little sister; how there was always a special bond between them.

It explained rather why Lilith had fixed Wulf with a hard stare and told him he'd better take care of her Jade!

Then they explored Wulf; how he had been a fairly ordinary Austrian country boy, save for being of wizarding blood, happy as the only child of older parents, a farm boy so too hard working to be spoilt; and his parents had saved to send him to Durmstrang so he should have a better education than them.

It had been hard, so hard! Teased for his country accent, for Wulf was rural Austrian, he had found the dark brooding castle with its bullying inmates a horrible place after the freedoms of the mountains and went, as Erich had done, rambling as often as he might. And it was out on a ramble that he had been bitten by a werewolf, he thought probably Fenrir Greyback himself who loved to haunt the places children would be when it came time to change. And he was found, horrible injured, and taken back to the castle; and once he was healed well enough he was sent home in disgrace for being a werewolf. The shame of being expelled was bitter; but his parents had not blamed him and had held him close and promised to conceal his state.

Alas, they had not known the strength of a werewolf, even a juvenile; and when Wulf had come to himself after the next full moon it was to find that he had killed his own beloved parents. And then he had run out into the woods, not sure where to go or what to do; and had run directly into the man from Odessa who told him that there was a place for him.

There was no subconscious memory of the killing of his parents; and Jade plunged deep, searching.

Wulf was hurting badly as she searched and she explained in their linked thoughts that she wondered whether he had not indeed killed them; that another werewolf had been used while he was confined and that he was released to believe that he was a parricide to better control him.

They explored together; and there was a blank space that looked enough like a confundment.

Wulf looked for the memory of another time as a werewolf; and the memories were basic and cloudy; but they were there, hidden in a part of his memory that was all animal.

Wulf raged that this was yet another, in many ways the worst betrayal of all! And he had been trusting; this man had seemed to know all the answers.

It was true that the camp was almost as bad as Durmstrang; but the boy Wulf believed what he was told about the walls being for his own protection.

He had been a prisoner there for so long that when he was offered parole by Severus to run he had almost forgotten what such freedoms were like.

And yet through it all he had retained that sense of honour and what was right instilled in him by his good, honest parents; and had tried to learn a sense of contentment. He had even maintained a sense of sardonic humour; perhaps that too was a survival tactic.

The making of muggle werewolves had been a strain on his loyalty; but the old phrase 'for the greater good' was trotted out and he had been – albeit uneasily – pacified. Especially when he came to love one of them, a girl called Irmtraut.

It was such short lived happiness; for she had died birthing their little daughter, whom Wulf named for his wife as the only way he could think of to pay tribute; even as there were no medical spells for the werewolves, there were no funerals, no marriages, no concessions at all to human dignity.

And Irmi had become the light of his life; and there was symmetry that satisfied in that she had been cured of the hated lycanthropy at the same age he, Wulf, had contracted it.

He insisted on exploring the times he had been sent on missions to find out what the wolf within had done; he preferred to know, to grieve for those he had killed and atone by his whole life being dedicated to bringing down Odessa.

And he wept bitterly for the communities, men women and children, savaged at the orders of his chiefs; people he had never met, had no grudge against.

And Jade wept for the men he had led as werewolves against Prince Peak, so many of whom were personalities to Wulf, that they had cut down with Kalashnikovs, never dreaming of the concept that the werewolves the Odessa used being as much victims as anyone else. For how could they know when all who had joined Voldemort had been willing volunteers?

And as they came up to the present together, seeing how much love lay between them, they emerged from the deep joining, palms bloody from the cuts of each other's nails; and clung together as dearest friends and wept together.

Presently Jade tentatively started to touch her Wulf; and they loved for the first time and came to a cathartic release of emotions in each other's arms; and they lay wrapped in each other all night.

Whatever happened, nobody could break their link to each other now; they were as one.

The Snapes were staying on in Austria throughout the whole of the Christmas holiday; just in case of some crazy attack by Gerhardt. A family skiing holiday was always fun anyhow; and now Wulf was truly part of the family as well as just bloodjoined; and he and Jade played joyously in the snow with the younger ones.

And Irmi was busy teasing Krait and Severus that she should call then 'granddad' and 'grandma', which earned her a clip about the back of the head with two fingers from each of them.

Irmi too was happier than she had ever before known possible.

She had had initial reservations about sharing her wonderful daddy with anyone, even someone as nice as Jade; but she had not lost a daddy, she had gained so many relatives who loved her; and learned to be free; and she had no more fears of the moon!

She too used the family two-fingered cuff when Lilith demanded that she be addressed as 'Aunt Lilith'.

Lilith grinned.

She had not really expected that one to happen either!

Lilith was a child of fierce loyalties; and if her Jade loved Wulf and Irmi, she too would love them fiercely from the bottom of her complex little heart.

The Snapes were back in the castle when Strang brought word that there was a human woman with a little goblin girl who wanted to see someone in authority.

Severus asked to have the visitor sent to his office; and Krait firmly eavesdropped.

It was the girl Anett Breuer with a scared looking goblin child of about eleven by the hand.

Severus thought it a good sign that the child snuggled closer to, and partly behind Anett on beholding his fearsomely scarred face.

"Fraulein Breuer; what can I do for you?" said Severus.

"Herr Professor Snape; you take goblins I believe in your school" said Anett "I wish to pay for this child; her name is Yrdl, and she will use my surname while she is your pupil if you will accept her."

"If you are prepared to pay I see no reason not to accept her" said Severus "She will need equipping."

Anett flushed.

"Yes; I have a sum to that purpose; but I dare not risk equipping her myself. I hoped I might leave that in your hands."

"That is perfectly in order. I expect one of my older children will show her around Diagon alley; Jade or Lydia."

"I should like for her to get to know Jade; she seems a most pleasant girl if terrifyingly able."

Severus smiled gently.

"She was with us when we fought Voldemort; it made us all terrifyingly able as a preferable alternative to being dead. But Fraulein, there is a story here; and I beg you please to tell it! Let me send for hot drinks, for the little one is cold, and you shall unburden your budget of news!"

There was always something about German that led to formal periods of speech.

Soon, sipping hot chocolate – which came as a strange but delectable nectar to Yrdl – Anett spoke.

"The boy Mortimer Bane said that no-one should judge another people until they have seen for themselves; and so I purposed to see for myself. I went to a goblin neighbourhood in the city. They….. they fled from me, parents hustling small children indoors."

"And how did that make you feel?" asked Severus "Shamed?"

"Not right off; I think I felt more hurt than anything else. I am but a harmless schoolgirl."

Severus snorted.

"Harmless? After seven years of schooling? Hardly, my child. At your age Hedda Schrempf might have visited such a neighbourhood simply to practice the cruciatus curse!"

Anett flushed.

"I suppose there is truth in that" she admitted "I suppose because I knew I meant not harm….. anyway, a child fell. He had a twisted foot and could not run as the others could, no naturally I went to him."

"And he screamed in terror."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Because I know the very real and reasonable expectations that most German goblins have of most German wizards and witches" said Severus. "What did you do?"

"I got out my wand to heal first the cut on his knee" said Anett "And his mother ran out and begged me not to hurt him! I told her not to be so foolish, that I purposed to heal the cut; I was angry with her for letting his foot stay in such a state and I remonstrated with her. And she told me that goblins do not have healing for such!"

"Ah, then it IS worse in Germany than it ever was in England… I have wondered" said Severus. "Our goblins have always had essential healing available though until recently they have had to wait until all humans have had healing first…. Alas, even now it is not always possible for a goblin to have cosmetic healing, say for a squint, without someone with clout leaning on the healers….. but we in England progress."

"The goblins of the city have been told that the English eat goblins" said Anett dryly "I suppose to stop them defecting in droves."

Severus made a rude noise.

"How extremely crude!" he said.

"Yes; they are also told, as it seems are any who do not have a schooling at Durmstrang that the English win the Triwizard competitions because they cheat! I was able to say that the only cheating I saw was on the part of our own judge" she added bitterly. "Anyway, I was able to heal the boy Hiob; I had never tried anything of the kind before, but it was merely a transfiguration after all; and I demanded that his mother talk to me about what it was like to be a goblin. Her husband works long hours for a pittance making cauldrons that sell at a profit so great that someone is raking it in; and all the poor woman could do was to protest that she was saying nothing against her husband's employers for fear that I was spying for them for malcontents! They have no schooling at all; Yrdl here has taught herself and her parents and the older children to read; I was impressed" she added.

"It is impressive" Severus smiled at the child who gazed on him in awe that so scary a human should look on her with what seemed to be kindness.

"They cannot afford contraceptive draughts nor will apothecaries sell them any" said Anett. "I brewed a goodly amount for the poor woman, for she has nine children and deserves a rest from it; but she says that she must help her husband relax as best she may. How could I quarrel with that? And it seemed to me that if I sent their oldest child to school – and the poor babe has been working twelve hours a day in a factory for a few sickles a day – I could see for myself if goblins were capable of learning and being equal. The conditions they were living in are awful; I would not keep chickens in such. And if humans are superior, they have no right to keep their inferiors in such conditions as that for it is not in the spirit of protection; and if goblins are capable of being equals, then even less have we any right to keep people in such conditions!"

"Very true" said Severus dryly "But you see, Fraulein Breuer, there are many German goblins, and the wizards in charge, whether they support Odessa or not, are afraid of them. And they can make themselves feel one up, and so plainly in control, if they make the goblins feel one down. If they are ignorant and downtrodden they are less likely to rebel; and may I point out that poor diet such as those on low income are likely to have, leads to babies born that are less able to learn; and poor diet in the formative years leads to a depression in intellect for the brain cannot grow properly. Your protégé appears to be remarkable in her drive and intellect in learning to read; but you should be aware that her full potential may be repressed by poor diet, through no fault of her parents but through circumstances."

Anett was shocked.

"That is disgusting!" she said "Then I must see that her siblings are better fed; I have promised that if she maintains an average position in her class I will send the others also; I am wealthy. My mother left me well provided for when she died, and to my mind if I spend my dowry there can be no better dowry than the education of children."

"My dear Fraulein! You are quite remarkable, and I applaud you!" said Severus. "What of your father?"

"Daddy is supportive. He has started me reading muggle history and also books that are not encouraged; he has not spoken to me of his beliefs before for I found the things Herr Professor Hesse said so very persuasive and he was afraid that I should betray my own father! He says it is not unknown!"

"It is not" said Severus "It is a favourite tactic in totalitarian societies to persuade children to betray their own parents and siblings – for the greater good. Ah, excellent you wince at that specious phrase. Yes, Helmut Hesse was a subtle and dangerous man who was the velvet glove hiding the steel claw of the organisation that is such as Hedda Schrempf. She is the extreme of course; but that such as she is permitted tells you something of the personality of the Prince. Attitudes come from the top. Let me tell you about some of what has happened…. Ah, Yrdl my dear, you have finished your cocoa, why don't I get someone to show you round? My little girl Lilith is a little younger than you but she can answer any questions you have….."

There was a knock on the door and Lilith came in.

"Come on, Yrdl, I'll show you around" she said firmly.

Once the children were gone, Severus told Anett of the various attacks on Hogwarts and Prince Peak; and how they had repulsed them only because of having learned higher magics through fighting Voldemort.

Anett was shocked once more and indeed horrified.

"I want to work against Odessa" she said "And whatever I discover about the equality or otherwise of goblins, I think our society should be fairer. No group should cower at another; even if it is right that they show deference and respect. It diminishes humankind to be treated so."

"Even so" said Severus "And I strongly suggest you should work closely with us; on your own you may make a few waves, but what then?"

"I will be killed of course" said Anett "It is why I have brought the full five years of school fees for Yrdl; if she ranks higher education daddy will sort that out; and I am sure you will keep her safe if I do die."

"If you die I will see about removing her whole family to safety" said Severus "But it were better if you do not. Herein!" as there was a knock on the door.

Jade walked in.

"I've sent for people" she said "We should blood her in to protect her and help her; she is a worthy blood sister."

Severus smiled.

"An eminently happy solution; if Anett will agree to it" he said.

"I am not sure what I am agreeing to" said Anett cautiously.

"When we were protecting Harry" said Jade "To fight Voldemort you know, we became a blood group so any one of us could bleed for him, share his wounds, boost him when he was tired. My sister and I were included because then our parents would always know where we were and could find us if we were kidnapped. Such as we could do for you if you were incarcerated; such that we could take and reduce the cruciatus curse from you; such as we can dissipate the killing curse cast at you. Harry bounced the first one because it was his mother who sacrificed herself; the second because that had ripped off a bit of Voldemort, and when Voldemort cast the killing curse again, Harry was able to let it kill the piece of the enemy that was within him, not him. And the one Hedda Schrempf cast at him at the duel we all took and shared about. We got headaches; but it dissipated. We feel each other's joys and pains; we are closer than siblings. One has to love to do blood magic, and I can love you for doing what you do. You straightened Hiob's foot 'of course' but to many it would not be a matter of course. You have stopped seeing a goblin when you look at Yrdl and see a little girl, do you not?"

Anett nodded.

"Yes I do" she said "I – I find the feel of her long fingers in mine a little unpleasant but I get used to it."

"And it does not stop you holding her hand comfortingly" said Severus softly. "You are doing well; and you have an objectivity that is admirable. I look forward to meeting your father when I kidnap him for the second task."

"You will kidnap him for the second task?" Anett was shocked.

"No point having a task where you must show your devotion to your nearest and dearest if I do not place them under risk" he said "I still think it's a stupid competition but I play by the rules. Naturally I will not let REAL harm come to anyone! Actually, if I played strictly by the rules I would kidnap Yrdl as one you protect; but I shan't. For her safety from Odessa and yours. Even as I shall take a human friend of Mr Dell not a goblin. But this is drifting from the point; will you accept a blood bond to us and to those of us in England who fight injustice?"

Anett nodded.

"I will…. I have felt so alone!" and she burst into tears.

Jade and Severus cuddled her.

She seemed to need it.

And Krait, Dione and Sirri came in too to lend support.

"No, don't you DARE go getting susceptible dad!" murmured Jade "There's plenty of fish in the sea; be a spare dad for her!"

"I wasn't planning on doing anything else" said Severus dryly.

The bloodgroup convened; those who were at Prince Peak anyway and Harry, Ginny, Draco and Grace.

Lilith walked in with Yrdl by the hand.

"Don't you think she needs protecting too?" she demanded, having got Yrdl's life story from her. "She is a link to Anett Breuer. I explained what it's about" she added.

"Yrdl, the choice is yours" said Severus "It will protect you but you also have responsibilities to help us fight. Will you do that?"

"Yes" said Yrdl "I want to fight Odessa and show wizards that goblins can be as good as them without having to shout and be loud like the few that do protest. There are more better ways to protest. I want to work hard and earn enough to start owning factories and pay people better wages."

"I like this kid" said Draco. "Reckon I'd better introduce you to my dad, young Yrdl; he owns factories. He can teach you how to run them well."

"Well, that is for the future; and it is well to plan for the future but we have also to go ahead now with out ceremony if Yrdl is certain" said Severus. "We who are a part of it will be strict on you in class, as to one of our own children."

Yrdle nodded and Lilith passed her a silver knife.

"On Hermione's mark" said Severus.

Krait was a better ritual arithmancer than Hermione; but it pleased Hermione to be their arithmancer and the two always checked calculations for big ceremonies. Blooding was now less in need of such precision!

Anett was unprepared for the feeling of weakness; and the sense of belonging to so many minds!

She gasped.

"Why…. The Bane boy is one of you too!" she said.

"One of US" said Jade "As you are….. yes, he is my cousin Hawke's ward; and a close friend of my little sister Lydia. Even within the group we have our special people you know; my group is Senagra, Lynx, Fabian and Wulf; Lynx cleaves to Hawke, and through Lydia her friends are special too…. The ties are many and complex. And now Yrdl is your sister for real."

Yrdle flung herself on Anett; and the older girl held her tenderly.

"There was a baby who came with the dawn and went with the evening" she said "He would have been a little older than her, had he lived…. And mama died too. Daddy thinks they were incompetent in her treatment…. I wonder if I would have hated my little brother if he had lived and mama did not. It is childish; but of course I was only a child."

"Enough adults manage to indulge in that form of childishness" said Severus dryly "As a teacher I've seen enough children neglected or even hated for being the death of their mother; one of our brothers, in Lydia's group, was given to his aunt and referred to by his father only as 'the abomination'. And for that he had a happier upbringing with his foster parents than his older sister who was fondly and foolishly doted on in the wrong way until she almost made a criminal of herself in her failure to understand how to behave…..she half twisted Jade's arm off."

"Some kids had played practical jokes on her" shrugged Jade "And she decided it was me; and wanted to make me confess. Naturally I wasn't going to confess to something I hadn't done; and one does NOT cry out in front of bullies. We haven't any here, Yrdl, a few thoughtless oiks but no bullies; but a big school like Hogwarts you can't avoid it. Only Fenella didn't know she WAS a bully. She was a poor sad prune, but when she realised how bad she'd hurt me it helped her to turn herself round" she grinned "She's all right; she teaches in the school for squibs and muggle relatives because you don't need to have wand work to learn things like Arithmancy. David there put her on the right track."

David shrugged.

"Oh Fenwick was her own worst enemy…. Most people who behave badly are just miserable and need to find that out and put it right."

"And sometimes it's just too late" said Severus "Albus and I have each given Gerhardt several opportunities to try to learn and understand; we have offered him the chance to reach out and he has spurned it. He has made his bed, I fear, and must lie in it; and we shall have, eventually, to kill him."

"Why dae we no' dae it the noo?" asked Seagh.

"You don't have to be that Scots" reproved Severus "Because if we kill him now we may be facing a new leader of Odessa in the person of someone like Herzog Von Frettchen; who is a most efficient person and would be a more dangerous enemy. While a fool like Gerhardt is in command we have the advantage of knowing that he IS a fool."

"Herzog von Frettchen is in Odessa?" asked Anett. "But one might meet him anywhere!"

"Except leading the troops from the front" said Jade dryly. "In fairness he is the spymaster; not a front line commander. We believe he is a man of some honour who believes in what he does; which makes him doubly dangerous. Nothing like a dedicated fanatic to be dangerous. We're hoping he's a little jaded about the young Siegfried that Gerhardt is supposed to be however; for then he may begin to think."

"He is a powerful man in the German ministry also" said Anett "He has many fingers in many pies."

Draco grinned.

"Rather like my dad" he said.

"Lucius is rather many headed and mutable" murmured Krait.

There was laughter, and the joke had to be explained to Anett.

"I think" said Draco "It may be worth while dad getting to know this duke sociably; then there is the chance to turn him. If he has honour I should like to give him the chance."

"Of course you would Draco mate" said Ron warmly.

Draco's agonising over his own father was something that all the original members of the blood group had supported him over.

"Perhaps I too should get closer to Von Frettchen" said Anett coolly. "He has intimated to my father that he finds me attractive; and he needs to take a wife for the succession. He married out of school; but his wife died, it is said in childbed like my mother. It was at about the same time I believe."

"Unless, like my father by blood he killed her because he found out she was what they call a blood liar" said Erich dryly "And killed the so-called contaminated child also. My father found out when I was seven; he let me live to be a servant to purer blood siblings and packed me off to Durmstrang. I have been never happier since my TRUE father here adopted me" he smiled at Severus "And gave me a family!"

Anett felt the pulse of love sent to Erich from so many of them.

And then she realised that one who had sent it was an elf, or part elf; that she had mingled blood with elves and another goblin than Yrdl….. and that they were her kin and it did not matter.

And these elf-like beings also bore that zig-zag scar.

Yrdl found it all a bit overwhelming; not least Lilith who could easily be described as overwhelming at the best of times. There had been so much to take in! And Lilith had scoffed at the warnings Anett gave about prefect punishments.

Indeed, Lilith squared up to Anett now.

"Why did you tell Yrdl wicked lies about prefects making children stand for hours on tables and having to run errands and be servants to big ones?" she demanded "And being allowed to HIT children?"

Anett stared.

"Well such has been MY experience of school" she said. "Is it not then so here?"

"I should rather think NOT!" said Severus horrified "What an awful place Durmstrang is! In family we have the two-fingered cuff to the back of the head; and Fred and Flo Visick INSIST that they are Jade and Fabian's fags…."

"And no way we can wriggle out of it without offending them either" said Jade gloomily. "Lumme the amount of extra work they make being so determinedly helpful! But they're nice kids and mean well, so what can one do?"

"Our Prefects may set lines; or put a child on Head's report" said Severus. "No more than ten repetitions, but for a serious breach that MAY be repeats of a poem to prevent having to go official…. And that depends if the child involved will take that in the right spirit. No prefect likes to admit failure by reporting a child, but sometimes it's necessary. But that is the major punishment; we teachers also use cleaning duties and unpleasant repetitive and necessary tasks. No worse!"

"Though I'd rather have six of the best any day over an hour's gutting horned toads" said Ron with feeling.

"That's why I reserve that one for the worst offenders" said Severus. "Deprivation of sweets and treats is also a good one."

Anett stared.

"I wish I came to your school not Durmstrang!"

"Well you'd not have when it was Miss Cackle's" said Severus dryly "No academic standards at all! If you want to transfer I'll take you."

Anett shook her head.

"I can survive a couple more terms" she said "And I am representing Durmstrang; it would be discourteous and dishonourable to leave now. Besides, I may then later have some influence over some who have some admiration for my efforts. Which may come in handy."

"Isn't it about time we STOLE Durmstrang a little bit daddy?" said Lilith.

"Well, I have thought about getting people within the place to begin changes…. But it would be rather unpleasant for them until we have enough in place to change things wholesale" said Severus "You see, my poppet, just because the enemy thinks it is all right to send troops and deadly force against children doesn't make it right for us to do so; and so we need to infiltrate a bit more subtly."

"Like me killing Hedda Schrempf in a duel for her position teaching Dark Arts and pretend to be a supporter?" said Anett.

"That's subtle?" said Krait. "Crumbs, kid, I'd hate to see you being unsubtle!"

Anett flushed.

"Well it's an accepted way of gaining position; and I certainly would like her dead."

"It'd display her ruthlessness" said Jade. "And then you could start to teach not DARK arts but DEFENCE against the Dark Arts like everyone else does!"

"You had better come and teach in my school for a year" said Severus "to see what teaching methods we consider suitable; how's your Herbology? Only Ellie wants to teach Comparative Magic and loathes teaching Herbology but we shan't have a permanent teacher for a couple of years."

"I take NEWT in it and expect a good grade" said Anett. "I am studying Dark Arts, Enchanting, Potions, Herbology and Transfiguration."

"Well that's settled then" said Severus "And you can discuss the Dark Arts informally with us to help us fight them even better. And now you had better be on your way; do you need a guide?"

Anett shook her head.

"No; I will return directly home. Thank you though" she added. "Be a good girl Yrdl; I look forward to your letters, and remember to write both to me and your parents at my father's address."

Yrdl nodded, tears threatening; and Lilith squeezed her hand.

She'd settle in all right!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Diagon Alley was an experience for Yrdl!

Jade led her round by the hand, getting her kit, and nobody seemed to think it strange having a goblin child bought wizarding equipment! Goblins walked tall in the street and did not leap cringing out of the way of humans! True, some humans were abusive in their comments but they had faces made at them by goblin children for their pains!

"What if that man attacked those children, Jade?" asked Yrdl, shyly, finding it hard still not to call the Head Girl 'Gracious Witch' or 'Noble Witch'.

"Well anyone who attacked kids'd be dragged off to Azkaban and quite right too!" said Jade "AFTER people like me had stopped him doing it and jinxed him into a ball. Protecting children is something I'd be forgiven wand work for even under seventeen; I shan't be seventeen for a few months yet. The last task's on my birthday as it happens; so I'm only just eligible! Don't you worry; this is England!"

Yrdl had much to reflect on.

It had all happened in so much of a flurry, but of course she HAD to jump at the chance of education and hope it wasn't a trick on the part of the witch Anett. And it wasn't! And English goblins were so DIFFERENT!

And Jade was greeting a well dressed goblin woman – no goblin would be allowed to dress like that in Germany!

"Well Madam Weasley, how is married life treating you?" asked Jade.

The woman laughed.

"Now I DO feel old! Jade you wretch, how can you call me that so formally?"

"Because I'm only a schoolgirl, Garjala, and you're a newly wed woman and a pillar of the community… even though it's probably a joke pillar made out of peppermint rock."

Garjala laughed.

"That's more like it….. new adopted sibling hmm?"

"No, Yrdl is the ward of a friend of mine; we're planning on running a revolution in Germany sometime. She plans to be an entrepreneur and lead by economic example."

"Well no flies on YOU then, young Yrdl!" approved Garjala "I have to say, being an entrepreneur is great fun. Fred and George – my husbands" she explained for the benefit of the child – "Have made over a factory to me to run as I choose; it's heady stuff. We're all equal partners but we each have our areas of expertise. Are you taking her to the shop, Jade?"

"When I'm head girl and it's my duty to confiscate most of the jokes and stuff your rapscallion husbands make? I should rather think not!" retorted Jade "But as I have your ear, I'll put in an order for a deluxe box of your fireworks for the next party we have at school; and a hundred assorted sparklers too. Actually make that two hundred, it's two each and some for the babes too. And I'll have a dozen swooping cursers just to make a few Odessa people uncomfortable I think."

"Right oh!" said Garjala "Delivered to the Snape house and you'll send someone over?"

"Yes, that makes sense" said Jade. "Happy?"

"Deliriously" said Garjala "And now Molly is happier with me it's wonderful."

Jade embraced her.

She and Garjala had never been close; but she liked the high spirited goblin girl and admired her clockwork toys!

She had plans to send Hedda Schrempf apoplectic with fury with a couple of swooping cursers!

And Yrdl was digesting that the names of Garjala's husbands – two of them? – were human.

And then Jade was explaining that Garjala was married to the twin brothers of Professor Weasley who would be teaching her history and Professor Ronald whom she had met at the blooding. And Yrdl was adjusting to the idea that mixed marriages amongst the truly posh seemed to be quite acceptable!

There was a lot for Yrdl to adjust to; like the fact that she was being given pocket money every week of a sum almost as great as she had earned at work once the 'extras' had been docked from her wage like the right to use the staff lavatory and the place to sit to eat her meagre lunch. And Anett had been so angry when she heard that – and the English so coldly angry, their eyes glittering scarily! But they were angry FOR her not AT her. And she was to have three galleons a week because Herr Professor Snape said that he placed a limit on how much the children were allowed. That there were families who had enough money to give even more just as spending money was to Yrdl amazing! Anett told her it was to treat friends reciprocally with sweeties, and for mementoes if they went for day trips and in case she needed things like extra hair ribbons.

And it did not have to cover sanitary things because Jade had bought those with other kit, actually asking if Yrdl knew about them and what kind she preferred! Yrdl had never known there was a choice; apothecaries did not let goblins in shops in Germany, one made do with old bits of towels. She could spend some of her pocket money buying these fancy and clever products for her mother; and said so to Jade.

"Excellent idea" said Jade. "I use the ones with the automatic projected _evanesco_ charm; a bit more expensive, but well worth it I assure you! One charm lasts days, so actually they work out cheaper in the long run and even if they didn't I guess I still might pick them just for the comfort!

Yrdl tried to look wise.

She knew what was to happen – her mother had explained all this to her a year ago – but she was not yet in a position to know for herself.

"You haven't started?" said Jade. Yrdl shook her head. Jade grinned "Lucky you! Still, when you do, tell me, if there's any problems it's handy to have a bigger person to confide in! Or my mum – Madam Malfoy. She's eased dozens of girls through starting! And she or dad can brew potions if you're unlucky enough to have pain with it."

"Mum has pain" said Yrdl.

"Oh well, we can send some potion with the patches" said Jade "Not a problem! My brother Seagh will take a parcel and explain; and he's intelligible enough when he puts his mind to it. Especially in German."

People were so KIND!

And Anett was even paying Yrdl's parents a princely wage as though the girl was Anett's maid, their cover story!

And before being offered schooling she would have just jumped at being paid seven whole Galleons a week plus board as a maid!

Yrdl held tight to Jade's hand at the railway station.

The goblins here in Switzerland walked taller than she was used to at her home but there was still that continental feeling of wariness.

And they all leaped out of the way when the phalanx of German humans marched up in a body.

"Durmstrangers" said Jade, quietly, noting the blood red uniform. "What do those scum want? Here, Yrdl my poppet, you fade through that wall for a minute."

Yrdl needed no second prompting!

Jade approached the Germans, one of whom had got out a camera as they ranged themselves by the waiting place.

"And you lot wanted what?" demanded the Head Girl.

The leader laughed nastily.

"We thought we'd check out who came to your filthy stinking blood-traitor school and see which parents needed punishing" he said.

He bore a resemblance to Katarina Nactigall; presumably this then was her cousin Heinrich whose father had arranged for his own brother and family to be made into werewolves to gain the inheritance.

"Oh?" said Jade mildly "I'm fascinated as to how you think you're going to punish English parents of English children; I rather think our ministry might have a thing or two to say to that."

"But you take blood traitor continental children too, and filthy kobbolds whose parents should be punished for their crimes of contumely."

"Actually we have English and Swiss goblins; and the Swiss make no objection, and so it is therefore none of your business" said Jade, fighting to stay calm.

"But we make it out business; and one day the Swiss Ministry will also be punished!" said young Nachtigall.

"In your dreams" said Jade scornfully "Gerhardt is a broken reed; now get out or I shall have to take action."

He laughed.

"Oh but English girl, you dare not; YOUR ministry is strict about wand use wherever you are!"

"And yours most certainly is over muggle-rich places like railway stations. Wand-wise we have an impasse, but there are more ways of mashing a German potato head than with wands I assure you."

He laughed again.

"Do your worst" he said.

Jade shrugged and sauntered off a short distance to approach one of the muggle Swiss security police.

"Excuse me" she said "But there are a group of German yobs who seem to think they are Hitlerjugend or some such who are trying to bully and frighten the children of our school; would it be possible to have them moved on? It is not right that small children be subjected to insults and jeers and threats."

"Indeed it is not, young lady" said the policeman. "Collect your small people and stand as far back as you may."

Jade thanked him prettily and sauntered back to the wall as he spoke into his walkie-talkie.

Nachtigall jeered.

"And that got you precisely nowhere!" he said.

Jade smiled and went forward to draw Fred and Flo into her arms protectively as they had arrived, and the two Grant girls.

She also got out her mobile phone to photograph the Germans.

"I will see that your pictures too reach the ministry so that you cannot act the criminal in Britain attacking families" she said "And now you will be leaving; nemesis arrives."

A squad of armed muggle police came up to the Germans.

"You will move away now and no longer trouble the Englisher school or you will be arrested" said the leader.

Nachtigall reached for his wand.

It was as one reaches for a weapon; and he was seized and wrestled to the ground.

Jade was tempted to see if she could get away with a transfiguration and turn his wand to a pistol; but the chance of getting away with it was slim.

The other Germans were looking undecided.

"I wouldn't advise attacking muggles" said Jade in German "And here is a Swiss Ministry official"

The Swiss wizard in official robes was hurrying up. Jade went to meet him.

"What is happening Fraulein?" he asked her.

"These Durmstrangers came to threaten retribution to the families of non English pupils at the school and goblins from the good land of Switzerland; I asked the muggle police to move them on as I did not have a means of contacting the Swiss Ministry" Jade explained in an undertone as Nachtigall's friends were firmly shoo'd and the youth himself was manhandled in handcuffs. "He went to draw wand on the muggle; I expect he is under age for he is of an age with me and I do not achieve seventeen years for several months. His name is Nachtigall; I know something of his family. Will you protect those poor muggles? He is of the most cruel and unpleasant; his cousin was at school with me."

The ministry official nodded his head.

"I shall confund the muggles and take him into custody myself; there is an auror standing by" he said.

"Thank you" said Jade.

Jade went through the wall with the arrivals – a few more had turned up – and collected Yrdl.

"It is all over" she said. "Come and stand with me again; we shall find you one of your own year to take care of you."

The first first-year to arrive was Engelram Langstaffe.

"Ah, Mr Langstaffe, how was your holiday?" asked Jade.

"A bit nervous" said Engelram "My parents were a bit puzzled by my school report saying that I'd improved because they didn't think there was anything to improve and I say, I don't know what to do because now I've been shown a few things they can't half be embarrassing!"

Jade sighed

"Engelram my lad, all you can do is to act with the quiet courtesy you've been taught and lead by example; state your opinions, where they differ, quietly and politely without rudely contradicting; and show courtesy to your elf, and if they comment explain that such is considered proper in such households as the Malfoys. Once it becomes apparent that you associate with the families they would like to know I think they will be eager to know more, I hope. I think you were named to honour the Hellibores; who kind of hover round the edges of society; and I think it's time we found you a nickname like BaHH and Batty, I never knew so many weevils with silly names!"

Engelram looked briefly mutinous then managed a rueful grin.

"You don't really understand tact, do you Snape?" he said.

"'Fraid not" said Jade "But can you blame me with a Bellamy, a Bathsheba and an Engelram?"

"I suppose not" said Engelram. "Mum calls me Angel-child but I only said that if you don't make any mileage out of it."

"Mmm, see what you mean" said Jade. "Well there's a few ways to proceed; we can make an anagram of it and call you Neaglerm or we can initialise you for El, or use a part of it and call you Rambles or pick part of the meaning – angel-raven of all things and call you Crow because it shouts better than Raven."

"Actually I think I like that! Said Engelram sounding surprised "Crow; it's sort of friendly. I'd like to make friends" he added wistfully.

"Well this here is Yrdl who also wants to make friends as she's starting a bit late" said Jade "So why don't you do your duty as a gentleman and introduce her about to the rest of the first, and you never know, that might start the others looking at you in a more friendly way."

Crow smiled tentatively at Yrdl who smiled as tentatively back.

That was a start anyway, thought Jade!

The boy had learned that the goblins in the school performed as well as the humans and was trying not to be racist. Having a small goblin girl to show around should help him to see her as a person not an inferior.

Gloria and Sebastian Cantripp were quarrelling loudly.

Gloria hated the fact that her brother had worked hard to get a remove to her year to be with his friend Adrian; the more perhaps because she had neither the inclination – or it is to be said, the ability – to make a remove of her own away from him. She had learned to rub along with him in her class reasonably well but sometimes resentment broke out. Their older sister Hillary trailed miserably behind.

Jade seized an ear of each and banged their heads together in an unsanctioned but wholly enthusiastic way.

"For SHAME!" she said "And how much would the Durmstrangers that were here earlier to taunt us have made of THAT display? And what does it do for the reputation of the school as nice and genteel and law abiding? You disgust me! And when I think of the Tuthills, not a year between them and one a muggle who stowed away just to be with and take care of his little sister regardless of the vicissitudes of a muggle living in the wizarding world you disgust me again even more!"

"Gosh!" said Sebastian "He must have a nicer sister than me then!"

"Well actually Freya's a bit like your sister" said Jade inexorably "Rather managing and a bit of a busy body at times; but ROSS is a gentleman. And he found a way to get enough magic to stay – a risky ritual that he went through for the love of his sister. And they're in the same year and they are, as siblings should be, the best of friends. Before mum and dad adopted us, my little sister and I had only each other; and comforted each other when the whippings seemed too much to bear. And because mum and dad have given us security and love, y'know we accept whoever that adopt and love them because they need it. Like Seagh who's only been my brother since just before we started school, and him the same age as me and four years we spent in the same class until dad wanted me to be in the sixth to start here; and Seagh WAS to have stayed in Hogwarts. But he upped sticks to be with me, bless him! You who have never had strife or pain or hatred in your lives, no adversity, no stress or strain have no excuse to behave like a pair of animals! Now get on the train and when you get to school you can each write me out fifty things that are good about each other!"

They stared at her.

Jade so rarely became so intense when dealing with younger ones that it was a shock.

"You were WHIPPED?" said Gloria in a small voice.

"Yes; as mum was. We had her too – she helped us dress and things – so we weren't entirely alone once she took on the care of us" said Jade "She was a year younger than you Gloria and having care of six orphans and whipped if we were late or untidy or answered back. She and I will bear our scars until we die. I was seven when dad rescued us all; mum was then fifteen. You have much to be thankful for young lady and it makes me furious to see how ungrateful you are for all the good things in life you just take for granted!"

Gloria was sobbing.

"I'm sorry Jade" she said "And – and I'm sorry Sebastian too!"

Sebastian didn't say anything; he just hugged Jade hard, uncharacteristically for a big boy of thirteen.

Then he hugged his sister.

"Well!" said Jade "If you can make up and settle your differences civilly I'll let you off the impot. I'll keep it in reserve, mind" she added warningly.

The two went on together rather soberly.

"Was that true, Jade?" gasped Hillary Cantripp.

Jade regarded her coolly.

"I didn't know you thought I was in the habit of lying" she said.

"I didn't mean – I mean, it sounds so incredible!"

"Does it? Perhaps to a nice middle class girl who's never seen the seamier side of life it might. The orphanage we were in was bad; but they exist. As do merry and bright ones. And there are parents who are cruel too. Harmony's parents fought like cat and dog; and her big sister was horribly injured when they didn't take account of who was in the way of the jinxes they were firing. Fortunately Dad is the best curse breaker in the world. Dad was beaten by his father. Even in supposedly 'nice' families things like that happen Hillary; you're thinking of teaching and you'll need to look out for the signs. Truculent kids are usually abused kids. Be aware."

"I will" Hillary had tears in her eyes. "And – tell me more what to look out for?"

Jade nodded.

She was feeling a little ashamed of having lost her temper; those Durmstrangers must have rattled her more than she had realised.

And she would be glad to have the foreign children safely aboard before any of them drifted back!

Jade shoo'd the Accola girls on when they arrived with Arbrek telling them tersely that there had been Odessa trouble and just keep moving. The girls would likely hear about it from their mother; a muggleborn witch she had gone to Beauxbatons and worked now in the Swiss ministry, in the goblin relations office, where she had met her husband. Leneli was half ashamed of being a half breed, but Roseli was proud of how her parents had overcome prejudice to marry. Their father dropped them off; he was a humorous-faced little fellow and by the photos the girls had their mother was a big, golden and pink and white creature who bullied all her family gently and was adored by them all.

Those children who were attached to the school – ex werewolves and elves – were waiting ready on the train to greet friends. As too were the Zorn girls. Prince Irun had personally collected them for a few days at Christmas; and delivered them back to the school rather than risk the train journey from Belsornia more often than it could be avoided.

Soon both Adrian was there seeking out Sebastian, and Milos looking for Leneli.

Then Antti arrived with a slightly older Finnish girl.

"This is Hanna-Leena Tommila" he said "She has travelled with me. We are from the same community."

"Ah yes, I am expecting you" said Jade "I am very sorry to hear about your mother; if you want anyone to talk to any time I am always available you know; and believe me, I do understand bereavement."

"Thank you" said the girl in a hard little voice. Her face was a mask of unemotional control; and Jade's heart went out to her.

"How long did your guardian let you have to grieve?" she asked.

The girl shrugged.

"He said that as I had no grief I could come when term started. My mother died on Christmas day" she said coolly.

Jade's breath hissed in horror.

"What a creep!" she said angrily. "Hanna-Leena, it is right that you should not join school until you have a chance to grieve properly and feel like making a new life for yourself!"

"Thank you, I disagree" said Hanna-Leena stiffly "It is better that I busy myself."

Jade sniffed.

"Well if you want to have something to do I should think there are other things than having to start school after having nursed your mother because this creep of a guardian of yours has left you in sole charge. I will speak to the Head; he will see that you need not be expected to join in where you do not wish to."

"I wish to join in. Then I will learn all the things I need. Then I will kill my mother's stepbrother when I am grown up" said Hanna-Leena. Her emotionless tone was chilling.

"And if you ask me, from what I've heard, you couldn't kill a better person" said Jade who was no stranger to real and deep hatred. Killing Sister Agatha had been one of the things she had always dreamed about to keep her going.

Hanna-Leena shot Jade a look to see if she was humouring her; and decided that perhaps after all she was not; and nodded.

Jade seethed gently.

Severus had received a letter at the last minute asking if the school could accept the child of a man's dead stepsister whom she had been nursing and so was unable to leave before, as a boy from the village seemed to be doing reasonably well at the school and the fees were reasonable. Severus had accepted the charge of the girl who seemed to be unwanted by this step-uncle of hers; reading between the lines he would not have sent her to school had not her mother left money in trust that made provision for this and the other executor bent on seeing that the child was duly sent to school. Severus had sent an owl to the other executor, a goblin banker; who assured him that in his opinion the uncle would have only taken her into his own home as a skivvy and hoped to work her to death to get his hands on her mother's meagre savings. He wrote that there was enough to see the child at Durmstrang for three years or Prince Peak for four and a half and maybe Hanna-Leena might do some remedial teaching after that to support herself through NEWTs. He was plainly vaguely sympathetic in a disinterested and banker-like way; ready to do what he could with moral support but feeling the child to be little of his concern once his duty to her mother, his customer, was discharged.

Poor lonely little girl!

And Antti was no friend of hers; he made it clear they had travelled together, no more.

Jade sent a blood-pulse to Krait demanding a mind link; and when it came, told Krait all about the child and how she needed to be whisked off for cuddles and a proper weep.

Krait was quite equal to getting the lonely little thing to open up!

And Krait too had picked up Finnish in an informal study of Comparative Magic to make the little girl feel more at home.

Jade was glad to see the Hubbles and passed Hanna-Leena to Rose, who was a kind little thing and could be guaranteed to look after her and feed her on sweeties and introduce her to the choicer spirits of the second.

Soon she had everyone she was supposed to have; and went through to get back to school – and the Triwizard.

And to check on Yrdl.

She had warned the first years as they arrived that there was a new child, or at least BaHH and his group. She had been too concerned to get the Swiss children on the train to say anything to them; but they would find out.

Arbrek was part of BaHH's set anyhow.

That would be something else for Yrdl to be reconciled to; Arbrek was a very wealthy boy indeed and used to having money. That he was also a generous young soul was a credit to his parents, and Jade could not fault him in that. And Arbrek would doubtless learn a few things too; for the Swiss were as careful of the welfare of goblins and elves as of humans. Anything else would, Jade suspected, offend their sense of tidiness!

"I say Snape, it's a bit much of you not to have kidnapped at least one of those Durmstrang fellows to let us practise jinxing!" said AHHa as Jade went down the train. He was grinning.

Jade pulled a rueful face.

"Oh I'm so sorry to have been so thoughtless as not to lay on entertainment for you!" she said. "You lot have it a bit soft on the train, I do admit that; we haven't any real creeps and even last year Morgana and Amarantha were too scared of dad to start trying it on with any younger ones. There are kids I would have liked to have liked better, but on the whole you're not a bad bunch of sprouts. You'll just have to form two teams and play wargames on each other on the train; you lot versus the muggle marauders or something. And take your punishment like men if you get caught at it by prefects. But it's not a bad idea to do so you learn a bit of all out wand-war. There's a duelling club starting this term to vie for your attentions with the dancing; so that should tone you all up a bit. And my sister taught me a new jinx that came from the head of Hogwarts' resident genius, Gorbrin Malfoy-Tobak who couldn't decide which subjects not to take and is doing twelve OWLs and tipped for 'O's in most if not all. He's been brewing NEWT level potions since before he got to school and he makes up jinxes like it was easy" she added "And his arachnonunculous curse is worth seeing."

"Cool!" said AHHa, unmoved by a Malfoy with a goblin name. AHHa took life as it found him.

Jade whiled away some of the journey teaching them and the Muggle Marauders the new jinx that left the recipient covered in wriggling spider legs like some obscene if sparse fur.

"If you the cast the tarantallegra curse on the spider legs would it make you feel like they were crawling all over you?" asked AHHa.

"I haven't a clue" said Jade "Why not get a volunteer and find out?"

It took a twelve year old small boy to think of things like that.

Come to think of it, the best curses generally came out of the imaginations of small boys between the ages of twelve and fourteen. Like dad's _levicorpus_. There was something in that; something someplace it was probably better not to go.

The train journey had no further mishap and Jade was glad.

She had spoken to her father about the driver's mother and the elderly goblin woman was now living on the mountainside as part of the community by the railhead, under the eye of both the stationmaster and Friedolf Nachtigall who ran the Gasthof there for muggle tourists.

There would be no more unscheduled stops to take the old woman gifts; and the driver was full of gratitude that his mother would be lonely no longer.

The old woman was torn between pleasure at having neighbours to upbraid and dismay at having been moved at all.

Since Severus had arranged that everything would be done without her having to turn a hand she had had the pleasure of grumbling about how badly it had been organised. And it was better to have one's dependants where one might better care for them.

As well as not having the uncertainty of whether the driver would make unscheduled stops to visit relatives!

Once at the cable-car where the youngest travelled up first, Krait was there to extract Hanna-Leena and side-along apparate her while others dealt with her baggage; and a good dose of cuddle with tea steaming in a cauldron and crumpets on the trivet soon had the child letting out all the pent up emotion that she had not dared to display to her step-uncle, knowing that he would sneer and browbeat even as he had chosen to call her numb misery a lack of grief and criticise that.

Jade stroked the child's flaxen hair and suggested spending the rest of the day meeting the babies and helping in the nursery rather than having to deal with schoolchildren.

"They're a nice little bunch in your year" said she "And when we tell them that your mum just died and you're all alone in the world almost all of them will rally round you know!"

"Rose has been very kind" said Hanna-Leena "I guess she must think I was spurning her kindness. I was afraid of crying in front of everyone you see."

"Well I'm sure Rosie-Posie will understand if we explain it too her" said Krait "Professor Snape will arrange with your mother's banker to be called your guardian; one of his other wards is in your year, George Ingate. And as family perhaps you'd like to invite Rose to partake of crumpets with us instead of taking her tea with the others?"

Hanna-Leena nodded; and Rose was presently asked to take tea with Madam Malfoy. It was an invitation she accepted with alacrity; Madam Malfoy's teas were informal and jolly and often involved playing with babies and feeding them stickily.

And when Krait explained about the Finnish girl's reticence, Rose ran over to her and hugged her.

It would be nice too for Rose to have a special friend if this grew; for Rose was a little friend to all the world – with the possible exception of Silvina Brewer – and whilst Kate Grant came close, being as keen on quidditch as Rose herself she was a self sufficient little body. And Rose needed to be needed.

Well that was Hanna-Leena sorted out.

And as Yrdl had been talking at the top of her voice with the rest of the first presumably she was settling in quite adequately too. Krait had hoped she would get on with BaHH and co as she was blooded; for it seemed possible that they might form another layer of Marauders at some point. They had the right outlook after all!

It looked like being a satisfactory term.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Yrdl had been rather terrified of mixing with human wizards at school; how would they treat her? Would she be expected by them to fag for them, however much Jade said it didn't generally happen?

And the boy Engelram, now Crow, Langstaff had been vaguely kind to her and introduced her around in the sort of voice comic Englishers had on the wireless. And one of the other pupils was a goblin, and another was a half goblin; and the goblin was upright and proud and so was the half breed; and Yrdl burned with shame over the mistake she had made asking the girl quietly if the others ragged her for having a prostitute for a mother and the girl Roseli had slapped her. And when Yrdl cried that she wasn't judging, Roseli had screeched at her for miscalling her mother and the girl with the odd name of Batty mediated and found out that Yrdl had never heard of goblins and humans being married and that all the half goblins she had ever heard of were the unfortunate children of prostitutes. And then Roseli had calmed down and begged Yrdl's pardon for slapping her, for some goblins could be as blood snobby as some humans and she had thought Yrdl was being snide.

And they shook hands and it was behind them and Yrdl told them all what it was like in Germany, and the Swiss goblins were as horrified as the English humans. And for that matter the two French humans who were twins and who declared the Germans to be barbaric. And the boy called Reinulf said 'not all of us, only the fools' and there was a free and frank discussion on the ills of Odessa, and not one of them even thought to look over their shoulders! And when she, Yrdl, pointed out what a big risk they were taking they LAUGHED and said that Odessa had not an arm long enough to cause trouble in THEIR school, for was not the carriage registered as British Soil, and they couldn't be touched even if the Odessa was the official arm of German governance which it wasn't even if it did control its puppets in the German Ministry.

It was all scary but so deliciously seditious!

There were three first years who did not care to take much interest; the boy from a place called Finland – Yrdl had only the vaguest idea where France and England and Switzerland were, let alone Finland – and a boy and a girl from England called Blaise and Eve. Antti seemed to think that being part of a school not Durmstrang was enough without troubling with politics; and Blaise said politics made his head ache. Eve said very little but once she had discovered that Yrdl came from a very poor family she stopped bothering to talk to her at all.

She was what Jade had described as a snob-snob rather than a blood snob.

But the others were not, and they chatted to her as if she was a human! And when Crow admitted to his new nickname he got some good natured chaffing and the declaration from the strangely named BaHH that with a new name he was a new fellow and therefore easier to be friends with. And they were still talking about how things differed in different countries as they got off the train and Yrdl was explaining that if she got a job through having qualifications that made her rich she could buy a factory and show up the wizards in Germany by doing it properly.

And now it seemed the most natural thing in the world to be chattering as they unpacked, sharing a room with Batty and Roseli and Cecilia and even Eve, not because they had to share because there was heaps of space but because it was 'the proper thing to do' in school as Cecilia explained; for Cecilia had a nearly grown up sister of fifteen who had been at the school since it took only girls and everyone had their own room. Cecilia boasted that she and her brother were only one of many twins in the school, because there was at least one set in every year up to the fifth, or at least, the Cantripps were brother and sister not twins but they were in the same year and that was close enough and the second had not one but THREE sets of twins because that lot were dead greedy.

It left Yrdl feeling a little drained; but in a good way.

And she was able to boast shyly that if she did well enough to please her sponsor, her twin sisters would come in next year and keep up the tradition; and Roseli admitted to twin brothers but not for a number of years, being only five; and that her next oldest sibling, also a boy, would be coming in, in three years, and that was the same age as Yrdl's oldest brother too, so it was something they had in common. Batty said mournfully that she was the baby of the family; and Cecilia said yes, so were she and Emil.

"But at least you've got each other" said Batty "My sister's in the lower sixth; and she and the two big ones who've left school are far closer in age. Mum and dad have always said I was the nicest accident they had but it would have been nice if they'd followed me up with an on-purpose so I had a chum. It's almost like being an only child with two big sisters AND a big brother to nag as well as parents and Jane – she's our nurse – too. And Bethany can nag for England, believe it!"

"Yes but she DOES treat you too" said Cecilia fairly "And as a sixer she gets all sorts of privileges which Letty doesn't on the odd occasion she decides to treat us. Sixers can go out down to the village just for the signing of a book and take a junior oik; fifths only get picnic privileges with per and can only take us out if there's two or more of them and then only with say so."

"And Yrdl and me and Eve don't have the joys or sorrows of much bigger sibs" said Roseli "'Cos my sister just two years older is than me and still therefore middle school. And Yrdl the oldest is and poor Eve an only."

"Don't 'poor Eve' me, I'm jolly glad I'm an only!" said Eve "And Roseli, your GRAMMAR!"

"I still very German grammar am until I settle down" said Roseli with perfect composure "And on German days, not so good YOUR grammar is to carp at mine."

"I say, did they warn you we're trilingual here?" asked Batty of Yrdl.

Yrdl nodded.

"My sponsor gave me English by magic, but still I have much to learn of understanding how it works" she said "And French is all new to me."

"That's easy" said Cecilia "I think I know the spell…. I can give you enough to get you started at least, once you have a basic vocab and some grammar it's easier to go on. M. Maxime is dead nice and a kind teacher anyway. And you'll not need to learn from Professor Luytens I guess as you are German."

"Anett – my sponsor – says it will not harm to learn how the language works as I've had no lessons" said Yrdl. "But she says only English is a hard language to learn because just as you understand the rules the English change the rules because the English are awkward to start off with and thieves of other languages when they feel like it and the whole tongue is a cross-eyed old bitch."

The others shouted with laughter.

"It is a lot harder to explain WHY it works than just speak it" said Batty. "Professor Nuffield says we can't learn Latin if we don't understand our own language; he teaches Latin as an out of school elective for people who are keen on chanting and ancient runes. Professor Maxime teaches Ancient Runes as well as French. It is good to be able to speak to other people. Jade Snape actually speaks Finnish too; because you use that in chanting sometimes. We have Russian kids here too now, some elves, and the Zorn twins are from some weird Slavic country that probably speaks Russian so I should think Jade'll be learning Russian any time now. We look at the Cyrillic script in ancient runes, it's weird for being NEARLY normal, like ancient Greek. I say, you HAVE got a load to catch up!"

"Jade Snape has been working with me in the hols to catch up some" said Yrdl shyly "She says so long as I can do Arithmancy the rest falls into place quite easily. I'm not sure I see it but I'm trying" she sighed. "Arithmancy's not too hard but it has its trying moments."

"Arithmancy is a PIG" said Roseli with feeling.

"But fortunately the rest of us girls are sufficiently au fait with it not to piss off Madam Granger too much" said Cecilia "And Reinulf is as likely to draw her fire as Ros because he can't see the point of trig either. She's a bit scary at times but she's a good teacher."

"I am to do remedial classes with her and with other teachers to catch up, with the other new girl in the second" said Yrdl.

"Oh well, not so bad if there's two of you!" laughed Batty. "But she has a bit of a tongue on her! She can be kind enough, if you tell her you don't understand and ask her to explain, if you can get up the courage, but she just LOATHES dreamers…..like Emil. 'Mr Villeneuve would you care to tell me what it is in your private little world that is so fascinating that it prevents your attention being fixed on my pearls of wisdom?' for example or 'Mr Villeneuve, you are staring at nothing with your mouth open, presumably as an means of egress for the few wits you possess to go a-wandering' which is entertaining for the rest of us but I'm glad I'm not Emil!"

"Oh he don't care" said Cecilia "Water off the back of a duck! He won't be taking it as an elective so he doesn't see why he should bother. Potions is his thing."

"But" blurted out Yrdl "Jade said that Arithmancy's VITAL to be a good potioneer!"

"Well Emil's content to be an adequate potioneer I guess" said Cecilia "It's not like either of us will need to earn a living after all."

Yrdl frowned.

"But that is so wrong!" she said "Education should be USED! To me, it is a privilege I never hoped to have; and to waste the years of learning is – is a CRIME! If you don't need to work, you should let another who does have your place!"

Cecilia stared. Eve gave a scornful laugh.

"Dear me, what a little social reformer!" she said "This is a school for rich kids, you stupid kraut goblin; almost NONE of us NEED to work. But we are the class from which the rulers of society are drawn you see; and it is necessary to be educated to be the mothers of rulers."

"Erumpant dung!" disagreed Batty "YOU're not from the rulers of society my dear and neither am I! That's people like the Malfoys and the Princes and the Longbottoms and the Weasleys and so on. We're of the class of fully paid up layabout that marries into the great families so they have better educated spouses from a wider range of stock so their lines don't descend into drooling inbred incompetence – Jade's description – and most of us will CHOOSE to take jobs because it IS a waste to be educated and not do anything. Though raising babies and educating them counts too I guess" she added

"Yes; and though I do not need to work I will" said Cecilia "Until I marry. Emil and me were half thinking of being Aurors if we can get the grades; for which you need to be good at several things but not top of your sphere. It's five NEWTs at 'E', not an 'O' grade required. But I meant that if he doesn't get it he can just administer the family holdings. He doesn't have to worry."

"I see; I am sorry" said Yrdl.

"Oh I take your point" said Cecilia "As does Batty by her fire. Ros, you're quiet on the subject?"

"My mother is muggle born" said Ros "And she too felt it a privilege to have a wizarding education. She puts back what she can into society; and I will work hard to make my parents proud. I am to be one of the first pupils to train in art magic when it is introduced; Professor Snape has promised this. His cousin who is a magical artist will visit two or three times a term to teach me some techniques; he uses his art as a seer, he draws what's going to happen; and there are other art magics he knows of and it is very exciting. And I am to go in the summer holidays to stay with an artist in England too. It is as new as having goblins and part goblins at school; and for that too my sister and I and Arbrek are to prove to the Swiss ministry. And if OUR grades are all good enough the Swiss Ministry will offer scholarships to poor goblins. So it is important to me too. We are not all the pampered only children of idiot parents, Eve, brought up to be parasites."

Eve had her wand out at that.

"A TRIFLE tactless wouldn't you say, Ros?" said Batty.

Roseli shrugged.

"She started it making racist remarks about Yrdl, calling her a stupid kraut goblin which is wrong on so many levels, go on Eve, do your worst then!" she had her own wand ready.

"I think" said Batty "Insults are even and it's time to put wands away before some prefect catches you at it."

"Exactly" said Lynx Black-Weasley's voice at the door. "Put them away, I don't want to hear what it was about and you can both write me the ballad 'Edward' to remind you of the troubles brought on those that fight their own brothers and respond hastily to words or ill counsel. You kids have an opportunity at school to learn to be as close as siblings and if you waste it any of you by flying in the face of general public opinion then you're fools. Only one rep, it's a long poem, on my desk in my study by this time tomorrow" and she whirled out.

"Could have been worse" said Batty laconically. "She certainly has YOUR number Eve; knows who it is who bucks everyone else."

"I do not!" said Eve "I just can't stand by when someone says something as daft as what the new girl did!"

"I didn't think it idiotic" said Batty "In fact I agreed. And if I didn't I say a new oik has the right to make a bit of an idiot of themselves until they find out what's what; like the misunderstanding with Ros on the train. And THAT's smoothed over. Well, it's a nice change for other people than me to be doing poetry impots" she added with cheerful callousness.

"Is that writing lines?" asked Yrdl.

"Yes, Impot is short for imposition you know; because it's a punishment imposed. Some just bark out lines and a number – like Hillary would have set fifty reps – repetitions – of 'birds in their little nests agree' or similar – and some set poems. Jade sets the most tortuously apt poems. I guess I know a whole book-full of poems" she added cheerfully "Mostly Kipling. Madam Malfoy sets Kipling and some Shakespeare which is an awful cheek because she says he's a hack, only he has er, 'apposite periods of instructive prose'. It's because he wrote a poem getting at an ancestor of hers that she don't like him, Jade says and the Glee Club at Hogwarts would keep singing it. Don't worry, if you get set an impot that you're not sure how to reference I'll help you; I reckon I know where all the favourite staff poems are now!" she grinned "And we'd better hustle or Lynx will bawl us all out for being on the drag and we'll ALL be writing out Niccolo Macciavelli on punctuality is the politeness of princes."

The girls of the first managed to avoid getting into trouble for being late for supper as they rolled into the dining hall just in time to sit down and immediately leap to their feet for the staff.

Roseli and Eve went off to the library after the meal to find the ballad book and had to work in relative harmony as there was only one copy and they had perforce to share.

Which, as Roseli later confided to the other three, had probably been in Lynx's mind at the time.

She also explained to Yrdl that it was best to do Impots as soon as possible to avoid getting bogged down if you later had a cauldron full of hot strong homework.

The song was famous enough even outside England to have Yrdl giggling at that.

It was the second who managed to be the first form to get into trouble.

They had been given a holiday assignment by Professor Snape on the medical aspects of the forgetfulness potion as they appeared, when set questions on it in the end of term test, to have forgotten it.

Hanna – who was happy to be thus shortened – was of course excused this; she confessed that she had only studied medical potions such as would help her mother, and Professor Snape set her a chapter to read in preparation to covering the brewing of some first year potions to check her techniques after school. The rest were brewing the forgetfulness potion from memory while he read through their assignments.

"Miss Brewer, I do not appear to have your essay" said Severus as he checked them all.

Silvina changed colour several times.

She had forgotten totally to do the holiday task; putting it off at first because she resented it, then genuinely forgetting every last word about it until others of her ilk were discussing it on the train.

At which point the silly girl would still have had time to pull off some kind of scrawl but she decided that it was not fair and she was going to refuse to do it.

Until it came to the crunch and she was facing Professor Snape's stern scarred visage when her defiance crumbled and she quailed.

"I – I can't find it" she said "I think I may have left it at home"

"Indeed?" Professor Snape's black eyes glittered unpleasantly. "Perhaps I should write to your mother, Miss Brewer, and ask her to look for it and send it on; so you do not lose marks."

"Well I – I might have lost it on the train or in the dorm" said Silvina.

"Miss Brewer" Severus gazed under his hoods of eyelids with contemptuous eyes "It is my belief that you lost it not after but before you had written it; that if any intent to produce this assignment was there that it evaporated like steam in a cold dungeon. You are lying, Miss Brewer; and you are in some small measure therefore a thief; of my time in setting you work you do not intend to do, of your fellows' time in failing to do what they have assiduously – if not necessarily particularly eruditely – done; and a thief of your own time in failing to make the best of the periods you have to learn. You will undertake detention, Miss Brewer to write the assignment; which will even so NOT be graded; and you will also write out for me in a detention period sixty repetitions of Macbeth's procrastination, 'tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps out this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time'. Oh my, we appear to be having a most significant Hubble moment" he added with appalled resignation.

Rose had been concentrating too hard on the awfulness of Silvina daring to lie to Professor Snape and had significantly lost the plot with her potion.

Clouds of pulsating, glowing smoke billowed from her cauldron, carrying with them a vile and putrid stench.

"Sorry sir" said Rose, inadequately.

Severus opened a window and used his wand to usher the noxious pall of smoke towards it.

"You surpass yourself Miss Hubble" he said dryly "I should think that Voldemort himself would be proud to produce what appears to be the essence of several inferii holding a wild party."

Rose blushed but giggled.

Professor Snape was harsh at times in his criticisms but at least his comments could be fairly well guaranteed to be original and funny. It sort of took the sting out of it.

"Well, as your forgetfulness potion was truly forgettable you may repeat it with the remedial class on….Friday" he sighed. "And please, Miss Hubble, try to bring both your mind and its memories with you!"

"Yes sir, sorry sir!" said Rose, chastened.

Hanna had followed the instructions in the book – Professor Snape had permitted her to work from instructions as she had not learned it to work from memory – and it had turned out a good colour and consistency.

She decanted it and started to write the essay the others had done.

"You don't need to do that Miss Tommila" said Severus.

"I wish to do so sir" said Hanna "Because then I shall be equal with this term's work. If I had known of this I might have helped my mother sleep better after nightmares to make her forget them" she added sadly.

"If you cared for her as assiduously as you have worked in my class I am sure she was well pleased with the care you gave her" said Severus with unwonted gentleness.

He could afford to be more unbending with a ward who was so recently bereaved; for no-one would think of that as being favouritism!

It was a different matter with Yrdl.

Had she been in a class with the First Peak Marauders they would have recognised the sternness of the blood group staff towards her as a desire to avoid favouritism; but BaHH and friends knew nothing of the Blood Group or its rules and noticed only that Professor Snape seemed harsh towards the new girl, and Madam Malfoy rather distant, though Yrdl appeared good at transfigurations, getting the idea of changing a matchstick into a needle almost immediately; and even Madam Parnassus seemed cold with her over her most successful locomotor charms! As to Madam Granger it was hard to tell if she was snippier as she was always snippy with everyone.

"I say, Yrdl, it's NOT RIGHT the way some of the teachers are to you" said BaHH who never believed in staying silent when there was something that he felt should be said. "Have you other oiks noticed it?"

There were nods.

"I think we should get up a depustition" said Emil.

"A how many?" said BaHH

"He means a dippetation" said Cecilia.

"They mean a deputation" said Batty whose vocabulary had been expanded by an excess of poetry.

"Please don't!" said Yrdl "They – I was warned that they would be tough on me!"

"Why, have they got some down on German goblins or something?" demanded BaHH "I must say I'm disappointed; I though Professor Snape of all people was as fair as fair!"

"He is; but as he has to act my ward because – because of circumstances and my sponsor not – not being available – he has to be tough" said Yrdl "They said it was the same for Jade, and Jade said yes, she got three times as many lines as anyone else when she devised trouble and got marked down in class something rotten."

That she was quoting was obvious from the use of Jade's characteristic idiom.

"Well I don't know" said BaHH "I think I shall go and talk to Professor Snape."

For BaHH to think was to act; and he promptly bearded Severus in his office.

Severus listened to the young indignance with patience.

"Yrdl told you correctly" he said "And your brother will also tell you that the Marauders also get sterner treatment in school than anyone else! As well as my policy towards my children, wards and Marauders I do not want anyone who might babble – knowingly or maliciously – that I show any kind of gentleness towards Yrdl. You are young and know only a little of the political situation; but if there were too many questions asked over why I gave tender care to this particular German goblin the lives of Yrdl, her sponsor, and her entire family might be at risk. Yrdl is I think only vaguely aware of this; and I have no plans to enlighten her of the danger in which she stands at her tender years. She is in some respects in the same position as Harry Potter; fighting a dark force of which she knows but little as yet. And I must walk a fine line, as those of us who protected Harry did, between letting her know enough to equip her for battle and not so much as to overwhelm her brave little heart with terror. And likewise I had to treat Harry with scorn; then because I pretended to be one of the enemy and had to act appropriately; now because we are in Europe and there are potential spies of Odessa. You and your friends can help" he added abruptly.

"How sir?" BaHH was rather flattered to be spoken to man-to-man like this.

"By being friends and supports for the child. I do not speak lightly when I say that on her potentially hangs the entire future of German goblins" said Severus "A heavy responsibility even if she is not fully aware of it! When you are all older, she and her friends shall know more; for now, be friends, help her catch up, do all the things friends do to support each other, be there for her. I cannot begin to guess how much support she will need how soon. She may already be an orphan if something has gone horribly wrong; safeguards are in place for her family but safeguards sometimes fail. Yes, they would kill all her family down to the new baby" he added harshly. "Odessa sent its junior agents – sixth formers from Durmstrang – to spy and photograph in order to identify and punish the families of those coming to our train. Jade dealt with that threat adequately but it is what they do. They kill and torture people. Will you still stand her friend?"

"Of course sir!" said BaHH, shocked that the Head should think for a moment that he might do anything else.

Severus smiled.

"It isn't always easy being the friend of a symbol; Professors Ronald and Granger and Malfoy can tell you that. They had a hard time of it from schoolmates when Harry was being ridiculed. But so long as you are prepared for that, I think you and your reprobate friends will do very well indeed. Yrdl has been warned that we should be tough on her; she accepts it. As her friend I ask you to accept it too. If, as seems possible, you and sundry of your friends become the next layer of Marauders, I shall be equally harsh on you; and then you will understand on a deeper level why. It is one of the secrets of being a Marauder; one that is not talked about."

"I see sir" said BaHH "Well, kinda sorta anyway."

Severus winced.

"Your English!" he said. "Go on, away with you; take her hunting for secret passages or something."

"Yes sir!" said BaHH happily.

That was the sort of Marauding that he could really understand!

Jade and Seagh celebrated the Hubble moment of Rose's cauldron – several people had seen the ball of smoke and its attendant miniature thunderstorm of flashing light – by serenading her at supper with the cauldron monster song, changing the first verse slightly both to be apposite and to preserve Professor Fraser's dignity. It now went,

_"As I was going into the dungeon to do potions_

_The smell from Hubble's cauldron was like a werewolf's motions_

_Professor Snape had smelled it, I could see that he was scowling_

_Evil concatenations was he heard to them be growling,_

_With me wack foldedol diddle day_

_Wack fola stirrer oh, wack fola stirrer oh,_

_There's gunk within the jar."_

They added another verse as Severus' comments on it were repeated joyously.

_"the pall of fetid pungency that lurked in awful grimness_

_and turned all the dungeon into a place of dimness_

_was like the horrid party of inferii a mouldering_

_toasting of their toes with half rotting socks a smouldering"_

And both Rose and Severus had coloured at that one!

"Horrid persons, no one would think you were in the Sixth both of you!" growled Severus.

Jade grinned.

"Well I for one shan't have much longer to be a giddy schoolgirl so I'm making the most of it, sir!" she said.

"And ah wis jist awfu' carried awa' wi mirth" said Seagh.

"You are er, the baith on ye wee sumpfs!" said Severus in a fair imitation of Minerva McGonagall.

They beamed.

And school was settling down to go with a swing until in a couple of weeks it would be time to go to Durmstrang again for the second task.

Jade had ascertained from Anett that the girl had not got a clue even that the map was a map; no geomancy at all was taught at Durmstrang.

"I suppose I ought to leave you floundering but it scarcely seems fair" she said. "Look, there are symbols that show the points of high power accumulation; the highest is Durmstrang for its age as a place where magical stuff has been done for centuries. There are ley lines between points of power, and you should be able to figure out what is where if you do a bit of library work" she had told her rival.

Anett had been grateful; and she was also grateful that Jade had left her to work it out after telling her what she was looking at.

Jade hoped she would work it out; it would be a shame if Anett lost out for having not had the proper education.

Beauxbatons and Hellibore's had a lower standard educationally than the other schools anyway and would not be expected to do as well; but Jade wanted a good competition.

She knew how to get there.

What she might find when she arrived would determine her tactics.

And she was not about to worry about what was going to happen. Wulf was her beloved; but Severus would not let anything happen to him.

And if Odessa tried to kidnap him, they were joined in blood to Wulf and they would easily find him.

Jade was actually quite looking forward to it!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Durmstrang was no cheerier this time than last; not that Jade had expected it to be.

She felt cheerier however.

She had swooping cursers in her baggage and had read up the jinxes of the anonymous schoolboy whose notebook Severus had found. Judging by date, style and ingenuity of the curses, Severus strongly suspected the author of being the first Septimus Weasley who had married Cedrella Black and founded the Black-Weasley line; the which had delighted Lynx into sheer squeals of delight. Her grandfather was fairly old as grandfathers went, for her father too was a seventh son; and she planned to take the exercise book to show him at Easter, and show Leo too.

"And if the poems are to gran I reckon she'd like to see them too" said Lynx "She was dead chuffed Leo and me picked Slytherin House for her and that it's improved no end. O' course it was before Myrtle's time, and she's often told me how she first met Granddad because he had the gall to come into the loo where she was crying – only she calls it a WC – and comfort her after she'd been beaten on by bullies. Isn't that sweet?"

Jade had been constrained to agree that it WAS sweet and was glad Lynx did not want her to agree it was romantic, since loos were rarely actually romantic venues. The only romantic thing Jade could think of about a loo was Abraxus' and Myrtle's tale, but in that the venue was almost incidental.

The poetry could be unravelled to imply a different house for the unnamed beauty and Lynx had written to ask her grandfather if he had ever mislaid an exercise book of jinxes, potions and poems.

If it was his, the Prowling Marauders, in consultation with the Mad Marauders, had voted to declare him an honorary Marauder for is work in jinxes and have his portrait as one of theirs when he shuffled off this mortal coil as Lynx put it; and Jade suggested dryly leaving THAT piece of information out when inviting him in as tactless to a man of almost ninety.

"Well he's too young to die for ages!" said Lynx indignantly.

"Yes but he's at the lower end of when people do sometimes suddenly die and it's distinctly uncool to remind him of that" said Jade. "You only have to look at the chocolate frog cards to see that some people die ridiculously young – like Tilly Toke who was only eighty eight AFTER having driven off a dragon in the Ilfracombe Incident when she was nearly thirty. Or Hesper Starkey – dad uses her work daily to check moon phases in potion making – who was ninety two. I'm not counting people who met accidents like Gondoline Oliphant who was clubbed to death by trolls. And look at Adalbert Waffling – we ALL use his theory book about magic; and he was only eighty two!"

"Well yes, I guess" said Lynx "I say, he was up at Hogwarts with four people on chocolate frog cards – Derwent Shimpling was a bit older than him as was Joscelind Wadcock,; he was in the came CLASS as Jocunda Sykes and she was planning on crossing the Atlantic by broom even when they were at school; and he nearly went to a ball with Celestina Warbeck who's a couple of years younger than him!"

"But presumably common sense prevailed" grinned Jade who was no fan of the singing witch. Lynx poked her.

Which jocularity was far from the task in hand; and Jade prepared to concentrate fully; for who knew what might happen since young Nachtigall had been packed off back to school after a severe talking to by the Swiss Ministry!

Jade had firmly enchanted her robes with the shield spell to ward against attacks from behind; she had no illusions about the honour of the young neo-Nazi.

Madam Bacsó was about as welcoming as the castle.

She had received an official complaint about the behaviour of her young wizards and witches and was not best pleased – either at them for putting her in so uncomfortable a position or at Jade for having involved muggles – and was ready to scowl at Jade.

Jade curtseyed deeply.

"Oh Madam Bacsó it is a shame that foolish elements in your school stir up such young idiots as the Nachtigall boy, is it not?" she said sweetly. "I am sure that such things did not disturb your peace of mind before having to accept staff you had not yourself chosen!"

This was actually true enough to make Madam Bacsó pause for thought.

"I cannot of course answer that, child, without discourtesy to my staff" she said in a gentler tone than she had planned on using to the girl.

Jade grinned conspiratorially at her.

"I however am an irresponsible schoolgirl of not quite adult years and so cannot be expected to act in any way but childishly" she said cryptically.

"Girl, she is dangerous" said Madam Bacsó "You had better be careful!"

Jade's smile was beatific.

She had enchanted two swooping cursers and wanted only a hair or other part of Hedda Schrempf to attune them; and that was easily got with a very precise summoning spell.

She had laid a time delay on the toys to set about their business after they had left the castle so as not to disrupt the task; an idea Lydia had initially had for the trick played on the Ravenclaws. Jade however had no need to look up a proper enchantment; she made up a chant. She was after all a full two years older than Lydia had been when she and the Mad Marauders pulled their stunt.

One of the swooping cursers was just to whistle 'Colonel Bogey'; if Schrempf did not know the tune and its significance, she would surely recognise it as the tune Seagh had sung from Feyspace after the debacle of the attempted arrest of Dumbledore and Severus. The other toy was inspired by the portrait of Sirius Black's mother and was to scream 'stains of dishonour! Guttersnipe and vermin, lowborn and cheat!" and it was to do it in Convolvumort's voice.

It had required a little tinkering of the charm to accept this level of sophistication but Jade was an expert tinkerer.

It was a shame she would not see the results.

Still, Anett would doubtless tell her about them!

Jade managed a few minutes talk with the German girl, putting up a _muffliatus_ charm and a sight-repelling charm on her own mouth to discourage lip reading. She mumbled downwards as well.

"Yrdl's settling in well" she said "As loud as any of her fellows, in with a really good group of kids. They're helping her with her catching up too. She's no dunce at Arithmancy and that's the big one to catch up on. She's good at transfigurations and charms in a practical sense and really that's what counts; and she hasn't blown up the potions dungeon yet so that has to be good, right?"

Anett smiled.

"I am glad she seems happy" she said "I hope she continues so!"

"Once you are left from school we shall see about moving her family if they wish it" said Jade "So we can protect them…. It seems wrong to have to but they HAVE been put at risk by exposure to a dangerous person like you."

"I'm not dangerous!"

"Yes you are; you're a would-be crusader. You are a person that Odessa will come to fear; and so they will hurt any you have had contact with let alone who you hold dear. Now scram before we are noticed talking too long."

Anett scrammed.

Jade noticed Nachtigall and friends glowering at her.

She let him loose off the first jinx – boring fellow, a stinging hex – which she countered with a twitch of a finger.

She smiled broadly at him as wandlessly and wordlessly she dropped the fart-powered dirigible curse on him.

It was an entirely invisible curse at first; it would take a while before its effects became apparent, before his bodily gasses had filled the bubble that changed them into hydrogen and started lifting him.

She was looking forward to seeing the results.

Good ol' Septimus!

The contestants were to leave at fifteen minute intervals so as not to see the means or direction of travel, being sequestered until they were called. They had two hours to find and complete the task and would get a point for every full five minutes under that they required for the task.

Anett was looking a lot happier than she had in the Yule Holidays; presumably she had a better idea of where to go now. Lionel looked supremely confident, Miles looked hopeful and Timothée grasped as his extra equipment divining rods and a conventional map. Lionel, Miles and Anett carried brooms. Lionel's was, Jade recognised, Gorbin's Millenium Firebolt with significant extra bits on it; and Lionel wore a muggle racing cyclist's helmet.

Jade nodded to herself; he could shave minutes off a flight that way; sensible to use muggle science and apply aerodynamics to it.

The others were staring at his broom with something between consternation and amusement.

Lionel looked bland.

He had drawn to go first; and went off when called.

Jade had drawn last spot again; and wondered idly if this was a fix or just statistical chance. Anett was right before her.

Fifteen minutes later Miles went, with a gulp and a shaky grin; after him Timothée. And then Anett. It was a full hour after Lionel left that Jade got to go.

She walked out of the seclusion room, waved to her supporters, handed her arithmantic notes to the judges – who also had observation globes to the place they were going – checked her bearings mentally and apparated smoothly.

It was a house in the woods; and she walked in, heading for the door that said 'Jade Snape'.

Wulf lay on a bed unconscious or asleep. Jade's heart jolted.

She had felt him drift into unconsciousness just before the start of the test; felt the poison course into his veins. A very slow poison but poison all the same.

"Gee dad, helluva way to announce disappointment in my boyfriend" she said.

There was a cauldron and stirrer, scales, silver knife and all the necessary equipment for brewing a potion; and there was a door marked 'stores'.

Jade used Scarpin's revellaspell on Wulf to determine the precise nature of the poison.

"Well that's an interesting concoction" she said "I suppose using a bezoar is cheating – at least I'll cop it from dad if I do – so we need to apply Golapott."

The door was there to the storeroom; and she went through it.

She could see at a glance that Lionel's room was empty; he and hostage long gone. Miles was in the storeroom feverishly collecting ingredients, and Timothée was in his room brewing frantically. Of Anett there was no sign but a middle aged man lay on her slab. Presumably her father. A marshal was waiting; he was there to follow her around and see she did not interact with the others and to – presumably – give an antidote if she hosed up.

Jade collected the ingredients she required with an economy of effort. Antidotes were easy.

And brewing potions was soothing.

Jade started singing quietly, using a chanting song to increase the efficacy of her ingredients as she added them. She broke off between ingredients.

"Idiot I am" she said "I could have cleared the poison entirely with a chant. Still I've started so I'll finish."

She could equally have done it with blood magic; bit there was no point giving that away just for a competition. Besides, it might have required a full blood change and blood replenishing potion; and that was lengthy.

She sang again, this time just because she was enjoying herself. Wulf was in no real danger. The other members of the bloodgroup would be on overwatch to make sure the Odessa did not snatch him for interrogation. And she was a match for almost any that might be sent.

Her potion contained an antidote too to the draught of living death that was keeping Wulf unconscious; this was doubtless for the peace of mind of the victims while their best beloveds wrestled with Golapott's third law.

It took just over half an hour to assess the poison and brew the antidote; for Jade was an efficient little body and economical with her movements, making only the one trip to the stores. She heard Miles and Timothée move back and forth several times.

There had been a box with bezoars and she had been tempted; but she had spoken about them to show she knew and discarded the idea as cheating in the eyes of her father for HER to do at least.

She was almost through the brewing when she felt Anett arrive. Good; she had plenty of time. Assuming the poisons were all the same – or at least had equal complexities – there would be enough time for her to get reasonable points. It hardly took more than thirty minutes to cook up after all.

Jade was blissfully unaware that she was a fast worker in her preparation as well as efficient enough to collect what she needed all together. She was concerned that Timothée was still there however; he had not had a broom so he must have apparated or used a sophisticated node shift that she Jade had never tried; and yet he was still brewing and cursing in French. The older woman in his room must be his mother; she knew the hostage Miles had.

It was little Emily Grant of the fourth, who had been furiously excited about the whole business.

And as well SHE was under the draught of living death otherwise she'd be driving poor Miles frantic with questions and suggestions and sentences starting 'Professor Snape says…'. Jade grinned, decanted her potion, and poured it gently between Wulf's sleeping lips.

His eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes.

"Mein liebling!" he said.

The marshal waved his wand over him for Scarpin's Revellaspell.

"Completed" he spoke to the observation ball.

"Don't I have to get him back then?" asked Jade.

"No, I apport back with you" said the Marshal. "Your hostage is collected by the Prince Peak team to be returned to the castle."

"One moment then" said Jade and proceeded to give Wulf a long and lingering kiss.

The Odessa knew her beloved; might as well let them know he was hers and that she would fight for him.

She returned to just outside the castle's anti apparating zone and walked in with the marshal. Fortunately nobody had asked her about her apparating licence; since being under seventeen she did not have one.

Her group cheered her!

Lionel grinned.

"Well I didn't get disqualified for using a bezoar" he said "Your suspicions to the contrary; and I'm jolly glad you were suspicious of it because I have three more time points than you."

"How long did you take?"

"Nineteen minutes; and all but one of those was the travelling" he grinned. "NICE broom!"

"Well souped up too" said Jade "nice spoilers and fairing."

"I think it shaved some time" said Lionel.

"About five to ten minutes I'd guess, knowing the capabilities of the Milly" said Jade "A couple of points; well worth having!"

"With you completing in thirty five – and trust you, Jade, to get a round number – and getting seventeen time points!" said Lionel "Those few points really count!"

Jade glanced at the leader board for style points; and was shocked to find that she was the second person back! Only Lionel was there with ten, five and nine points from England, Germany and France respectively. She blinked at the discrepancies.

"The Germans also felt a bezoar was akin to cheating" grinned Lionel "or so they claimed."

"One excuse will do as well as another" shrugged Jade. "Ah they've marked me."

Murphy gave her a full ten points as he had to Lionel.

"Sure and wasn't the style of the Arithmancy neat t'get ye there fast and yer brewing smooth and delightful ter watch" he said. "And isn't this chanting business just the works!"

The German judge gave her eight points.

"It was well done" he said grudgingly.

Jade suspected that he wanted to be able to mark Anett higher if he could and wanted room to manoeuvre.

The little Frenchman gave her nine points; he docked her one for callously singing while her best beloved lay in danger.

"You don't use ritual chanting to improve the efficacy of ingredients then?" said Jade sweetly "Ah well…. And then I sang for pleasure that the potion was completing nicely to the benefit of my boyfriend."

"Well I retract the statement then; but not the mark" said the Frenchman.

Miles came in at that moment, pale but pleased.

"I made it!" he said in tones of deep relief.

To have completed the task at all was for him as much a victory as for Lionel and Jade getting good times; and they both shook his hand in genuine pleasure for him.

Miles' style points were not high; six, five and five. But he had succeeded in rescuing his little sister!

"I say, your head's a bit of a skunk to poison little girls isn't he?" he demanded of Jade.

Jade laughed.

"And he also is the greatest potioneer on earth; not only did he have the antidotes on hand I am certain, but if you'd done your wand work aright, you'd have found that the draught of living death meant that the effects of the poison would peter out after twenty-four hours anyay for there being no exertion!"

"Oh" said Miles "I apologise for calling him a skunk then."

"That's all right" said Jade "Better men than you have called him worse with as much justification."

Miles tried to unravel that cryptic comment and gave up.

He wasn't even sure if it was mildly insulting or not and decided that it was more dignified not to ask.

Besides, Timothée had come in just after him; and as their points were very close it was a matter of some moment to the Hellibore's boy.

Timothy had one more time point than Miles; and scored significantly better than the English boy in style, gaining seven, six and eight points. From the comments of the judges he was a skilled dowser and had divined for the position of his mother and then apparated to her once he had triangulated by apparating to a distance he could see. It was a clever way round for someone who knew no Geomancy but had a special skill he might exploit and Jade was glad to shake his hand though he had fallen down badly on the potion, taking more than seventy minutes to brew it.

Jade was shocked.

Even in an easy, classroom situation her father would have a few comments to make on such tardiness! Miles, taking forty three minutes to brew his potion she though bad enough!

The most of the time, Timothée explained, had been trying to work out what to include.

Jade, who had thought that the easy bit, kept mum.

She was learning tact!

It was almost another twenty minutes after Timothée that Anett turned up, exhausted but not displeased.

She had, after all, started after the boys; and she managed to accrue ten time points, more than either of them, even thought it looked poor beside Jade's and Lionel's seventeen and twenty. She too had taken some forty minutes to prepare her potion – which pleased Miles as he was feeling a bit of a dunce when Jade admitted to thirty two – after having taken half an hour to fly there.

The use of the souped up Milly was vindicated; for Anett had proved herself no mean operator on a broom. One could not compare it to the forty five minutes Miles had taken, doggedly searching after determined library work and a lot of guessing, some guesses more accurate than others. Anett had figured out exactly where to go; Miles had had a vague idea of the right direction.

Both Murphy and the French judge gave Anett six points for her efforts; the German dared not give her more than eight in light of Jade's panache.

The positions of the first three had changed slightly with the cumulative points; Jade, with forty four points to add to her forty five stood on eighty nine at the top of the leader board; and in second position, still as close as Anett had been, was Lionel whose own forty four points for this task brought his original thirty seven to eighty one. Anett had lost ground here, gaining only thirty points; and holding a total of seventy three.

Miles was delighted to be ahead still of Timothée; but it was only by one point, forty nine to the French boy's forty eight, for Timothée had scored well, and was equally delighted to be more on a par with his closest rival.

The time difference would count as seconds delay in entering the maze for the third task, to be held unusually after the exams.

This was to cover Jade's age; not that Jade knew this, merely thinking it most fortuitous.

Dumbledore was setting the third task and it should prove interesting. And only eight seconds ahead of Lionel would be challenging; and sixteen ahead of Anett. It was no foregone conclusion.

Jade did not however regret aiding Anett; had she fluffed finding the place entirely it would have boded ill for the girl at the hands of her mentors, regardless that they had not provided her with a sufficiency of tools to undertake the task.

They dined with their rescuees; and Jade was delighted that beans featured on the menu.

That should make life more interesting for Heinrich Nachtigall; who was already starting to look a little puzzled and walked oddly.

With luck there would be enough gaseous effluvium overnight to make his jinxing quite apparent.

That there was a discrepancy in the teaching was a subject for some debate at the staff table.

"Zat was most naughty, Severus, to make ze puzzle so 'ard wiz geomantic symbols!" said Madam Maxime playfully.

"Oh do you not teach Geomancy then, Olympe?" said Severus "We only offer it as an elective at Prince Peak but we try to make sure our pupils are au fait with the symbols….. after all, everyone travels, do they not? In this day and age is seems to me a necessary practical study. I'm actually thinking of bringing it in for a year in the first rather than teaching the sixth as non exam, so the babes can have a taster and let them see how much they want it as an elective."

"Like you we teach eet as a means of preparing our cheeldren for ze world, alongside ze apparating classes" said Madam Maxime. "We 'ave no teacher qualified to teach eet more fomally."

"Well I am fortunate to have David Fraser who took the first ever formal exam in it" said Severus complacently "And he will teach it as an out of school subject on request, though by rights he teaches care of magical beasts. It sort of goes with him being an international Quidditch Referee."

Madam Maxime gave a great shout of laughter. Her whole body shook when she laughed and jade held her breath, terrified for the big woman's foundation garment.

"Zat ees naughty of you too, Severus!" she said, slapping his hand playfully "Though ze world cup this year….ah bah, boz sides WERE like ze wild beasts, you 'ave a point!"

"Personally I consider the use of a skill most people are not familiar with to be less than fair" said Agata Bacsó.

"But most people were familiar with it" said Severus coldly "Of the major schools anyway; Timothée preferred to use his own unique abilities, but you have heard Olympe explain that her youths learn some at least; as ours do. Hellibore's…..well it is a small school that lacks the staff. It was enterprising of young Miles Grant to work out the route as well as he did from the meagre education he has had. And it seems that Anett Breuer knew where she was going. If you do not teach it formally, then I presume you have enough library books that she was able to make it out. Her speed was good on her broom by most standards. She did not use ley-line assist; but nor did Lionel Dell, who did not, I believe, study Geomancy to OWL even. He enhanced his speed by using a fast broom and then speeding it up still further with the ingenious use of muggle scientific method to reduce the drag. Very impressive. My daughter took Geomancy to OWL but has not pursued it; and the majority of HER solution was arithmantic. The map was such that one needed only to recognise the symbols – as any idiot ought to do – and could use ley line assist to speed a time if the knowledge was there. If, as it turns out, the only one with ley line knowledge was my daughter she did not bother to use it. She used Arithmancy instead. You DO teach Arithmancy, don't you Agata?"

Agata Bacsó almost snapped

"Of course!"

"Then your own contestant, if she studies Arithmancy would have been able to use that as ably as Jade – had it occurred to her. The second task traditionally tests making choices and choosing paths to emphasise one's own strengths. Mr Dell – whom I consider was the best of the contestants although he scored equally with Jade – showed that his strength is flexibility and adaptability, the readiness to use what is to hand and the boldness to take a shortcut. I included the bezoars in the ingredients for those bold enough to use them. Jade is a little over-trained perhaps in potions; and has a healthy respect for my wrath over anything too slapdash. I was a little disappointed she did not take the same bold course Lionel Dell did."

Jade, eavesdropping with a distant ear charm pulled a private face.

She had thought of using the bezoar and decided against it for fear of being marked down; and Lionel HAD been marked down by the German judge!

The amount she had lost in time she had gained in style points so it worked out evens.

The visitors would stay overnight; and Jade was delighted.

She would have a chance to see what happened to Nachtigall.

That he was pulled in to breakfast on the end of a string like some strange balloon by the small boy who was presumably his fag was delightful.

"Oh please Frau Bacsó something has happened overnight to Herr Nachtigall!" piped the infant in scarcely hidden unholy glee.

"I'm FLOATING!" howled Nachtigall, rather unnecessarily.

Madam Bacsó regarded him with a certain amount of disfavour. His condition was NOT conducive to calm dignity to say auf weidersehn to the visitors until the next term.

"And how did you come to be in this condition?" she asked.

"I don't know!" yammered Nachtigall "DO something!"

"Your manners lack" said Madam Bacsó coldly.

"PLEASE!" added Nachtigall belatedly.

"You appear to have been rendered weightless" said Madam Bacsó "I expect there is a potion to neutralise the effect; Herr Professor Rebet shall brew such."

"If he asks nicely" wheezed a thin unhealthy looking professor.

"P-please Professor Rebet" said Nachtigall.

The man inclined his head.

Jade was holding silent laughter in.

A potion to reverse weightlessness would have no effect at all!

And the more he farted the higher he would float! It was quick thinking of that kid to secure him by a string; after all, eventually the bubble charm that held the gas in would break under the pressure and then he would descend very rapidly.

One had to assume that the bubble charm permitted larger objects than gas molecules to pass through otherwise crapping would be a problem; not to mention changing clothes. A very subtle spell.

And it exceeded expectations. Lynx was half doubled up beside her for laughing; and Jade did not doubt that the tale would lose nothing in the telling to that excellent old gentleman whom they presumed to be the originator!

Well, when the antidote to weightlessness failed, they would surely do Scarpin's revellaspell on him; and find out the nature of the jinx. Either that or the bubble would burst before they figured out a cure.

Jade hoped the bubble would burst first; and leave the whole business a mystery.

Nachtigall howled,

"I bet that Jade Snape girl did it! She didn't get her wand out after I tried to jinx her but the English are sneaky and don't always use wands!"

Agata Bacsó siffened.

"Are you telling me you drew wand on a guest and admit in public to jinxing her?" she said.

"Well she's a smug bitch!" said Nachtigall "AND she got me into trouble!"

Jade spoke up.

"Mr Nachtigall refers to my having him and his friends removed from attempting to intimidate the small children of Prince Peak" she said "And I believe the Swiss Ministry filed a report of the incident. Personally I would have said that he got HIMSELF into trouble."

"You, English bitch, you are nothing but trouble!" hissed Hedda Schrempf "I should like a moment or two alone with you!"

"Hedda!" Bacsó snapped. "You are out of line!"

"Madam Schrempf is sufficiently out of line that I call duel on her" said Jade.

"I do not permit it" said Madam Bacsó "As her employer I am permitted to veto this."

Jade swept her a curtsey.

"As you wish, ma'am" she said.

She could feel almost sorry for Agata Bacsó; holding foolish ideas along the same lines as those of Odessa though she did, the woman was beset by the imbecilities and imcompetences of Gerhart and his tools wherever she turned.

There was that about the woman that reminded her of Lucius too; and Jade preferred to turn rather than kill the opposition where she might.

And Bacsó WOULD be her headmistress – albeit unknowingly – next year.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Madam Bacsó was glad to get rid of the visitors.

The very idea of Hedda Schrempf opening herself to a duel like that! Agata Bacsó had no doubt how THAT would go; Hedda would try the cruciatus curse, get frustrated when the English girl laughed at her best efforts – as one who bore the scar undoubtedly would – and hurl the killing curse. If it worked the international repercussions would be terrible to contemplate – and might even lead to closing her school – and if it bounced, as seemed highly likely, then one could not even begin to contemplate without trembling what the Snape girl would do to her – turn her into a pink erumpant or worse perhaps!

As it happened, Jade had planned on cycling her through a series of creatures and leaving her, having once disabled her, with a combination of the twinkletoes curse and the anal bagpipe curse to test them out, playing Colonel Bogey in honkey tonk with her feet and declaring every time she farted that Britannia ruled the waves.

Unlike Hedda who mostly waived the rules.

Jade sighed.

It would have been funny. Still, she took Madam Bacsó's point.

And now it was back to school until after her NEWTs; and she might forget the competition for the while.

It would be a while before Emily Grant forgot it; and she talked incessantly of nothing else, though she thought it most unfair not to have been awake to see what Miles was doing.

"Yes, my dear; and fairer for HIM that you were not" said Severus inexorably.

"I say sir, did you REALLY poison me?" demanded Emily.

"Assuredly; is it not my custom to poison fourth years to improve their antidotes?" said Severus.

Emily giggled uncertainly. The fourth were never quite sure if they believed their potion master's threats or not. One never quite knew when Professor Snape was joking!

"At least Miles had MY poisoning notes to read" she said.

"I should hope" said Severus with some asperity "If you were attending to my pearls of wisdom you have notes on ANTIDOTES not poisoning."

Emily giggled again.

"But sir, it's all the same thing!" she said "Because aren't some of the antidotes poison if they're not being used as specific antidotes?"

"Good grief! You actually listened? Well then, ten points to the fourth" said Severus. "Maybe there's hope for you yet, so long as you don't burn too many more cauldrons for daydreaming about quidditch."

They had not been long back when there were visitors.

Three men asked to speak to Herr Professor Snape.

Severus saw them in his office. It was as good a place as any. Besides, one of the secret passages he had built opened by the fireplace; and here the Prowling Marauders prowled watchfully.

There had been some difference of opinion over having deliberately built secret passages; Lynx holding to the view that finding passages was what marauders did and Fabian considering it cool that a retired marauder should get to design and build his own passages. Senagra said, did it matter so long as the passages were there to use and Jade said that anyway installing them had been almost as much jolly fun as hunting for extant ones.

The visitors bowed more or less curtly and clicked their heels.

"Herr Professor" said the spokesman "I will be frank; I and my fellows are werewolves."

"How unfortunate for you" murmured Severus since a pause had been left for him to comment appropriately.

The spokesman nodded.

"Yes" he said "And as such we have no place to call our own. We seek to bargain."

Again he paused for effect and comment.

This time Severus decided to be unco-operative and did not interpose a comment, merely steepled his hands together.

The Spokesman looked flustered.

"Er, to bargain" he repeated "To ask for sanctuary in return for your use of us in your experiments."

He looked expectantly at Severus.

"Dear me" said Severus in a tone sufficiently like the way Albus Dumbledore would have said it that Jade thrust her hand into her mouth not to laugh and Senagra had to pat Lynx hard on the back. "And – excuse me asking – what makes you think I experiment?"

That was NOT the right answer; and the spokesman had to think fast.

"It has been said, Herr Professor, that you were overheard wishing that Odessa had sent you some more werewolves to experiment on!" he said.

Severus elevated an eyebrow.

"My goodness, how one's jocose comments come back to haunt one!" he said. "I have to say that for a while I sought experimental subjects; but as I appear to have attained perfection in my potion er, experiments are behind me."

There was a stunned silence.

"Excuse me" said one of the others "But have you had so many experimental subjects that you are certain of the efficacy of your potion without side effects?"

"Oh very nearly" said Severus "Almost nobody turns blue any more."

The Prowling marauders were biting themselves not to laugh out loud.

Since nobody had ever turned blue – not from the werewolf cure, anyway – this was hilarious. As were the faces of the visiting werewolves that they could see through the sneakoscopes installed in the passage.

"Nevertheless" pursued the second "Trying it on others might be beneficial to reduce side effects."

"Oh yes, indeed, I take your point" said Severus "Though some of the more tuneful side effects can be pleasing."

Jade fled at this to whoop uncontrollably in a side passage.

"So" said the spokesman "You will take us in and give us succour and try out your potion on us?"

"If you really wish it" said Severus "I shall certainly protect any werewolves who are desirous of it."

"Excellent" said the spokesman. "You will please show us to rooms?"

"Now I thought it was my potion you were eager for" said Severus.

"That too of course Herr Professor."

"Good; then that will do first" and Severus rang a bell and an elf turned up.

"Wiggi, bring refreshments for these gentlemen while I fetch a potion" said Severus.

Wiggi bowed and apparated away. Severus rose, inclined his head, said 'Excuse me' and left the room.

Fabian, not immune to the laughter that beset his fellows but a bit more in control than the girls, watched them.

"Are you sure he actually knows what he is doing?" demanded the third member of the party.

"Shut up Emil" said the spokesman "He has a potion; he has tried to put us off taking it. But he has sworn to care for us and so he cannot put us out, by the laws of hospitality."

"One rather wonders what this potion does" growled the second "He is all the silly English ass but he is, I most certain am, no fool. We would be unwise to underestimate him. And we are to take this potion without knowing what it does?"

"A fine time to get cautious, Bertolf" sneered the leader "You volunteered like the rest of us to be the first super wolves. As if any uberwolf potion will make Emil anything but the snivelling little rat he is" he added scornfully.

THAT was who the third one had reminded Fabian of; it was Peter Pettigrew.

His eyes glittered with the same resentful malice that Peter's had at first when talking about Voldemort – or indeed James Potter.

The werewolf looked more of a mean sewer rat than Peter Pettigrew did however.

Wiggi arrived with drinks and biscuits; then Severus returned with Krait and Dione and three vials of liquid.

He emptied each into hypodermics.

"What are you going to do?" asked the one called Emil, in a panic.

Severus smiled gently.

"Inject you with the potion of course" he said gently "It works so much better going straight into the bloodstream than ingested; the pain is over quicker. How long have you been a werewolf?"

"F-forty years; I was a ch-child of four when I was bitten" stammered Emil.

"Then you will appreciate the diminution of pain; the longer you have been a werewolf the more profound the discomfort is" said Severus "How about you two?"

"Twenty – almost twenty one years" said Bertulf. "I had just become an adult. I was about to get married too" he added meditatively "Grausulf here made me; he had been a werewolf for some ten years at the time."

"That is so" growled the spokesman.

"Roll up your sleeves if you please" said Dione crisply "We inject in the veins of the arm."

The three had little choice.

Three needles went in and the potion was delivered to three sets of infected veins.

The potioneers drew back as the patients cycled through the hair growing, writhing business of the cure taking its effect. Bertolf was writhing only seconds; Grausulf a little longer. For Emil it was half a minute.

Severus nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, reduced below a second for every year that the affliction was on you. That is excellent; your participation in secondary trials is appreciated, gentlemen. Please, take tea and biscuits; doubtless you feel a little washed out."

"Yes; but in other respects no different" said Bertolf. "What has the potion done to us?"

"Oh did I not say?" Severus raised his eyebrows "It has cured you of lycanthropy. You are no longer werewolves; and studies suggest too that you cannot be reinfected either. You are immune to the loathsome disease for ever more!" and he smiled benignly.

They stared.

Emil fell to the floor to kiss Severus' feet; Bertolf roared with laughter and Grausulf went white with anger.

"NO!" he cried "You cannot…. You TRICKED us! You let us think it was a potion to make us super wolves!"

Severus did a good double take.

"I beg your pardon?" he said "I never said anything of the sort! You spoke of my potion as though you knew what it was….after all I have published my findings in the magazine 'the Transactions of the Learned Society of Potioneers' and so I assumed you had read my treatises on my early partial successes and then on my refined version. What else was I to think? I do not know where you got the foolish idea that I would make super wolves. Wherein is the point of that? Diseases are there to be cured, not made more virulent. After all, no sane man LIKES being a werewolf, it is a terrible affliction."

This was the point at which Grausulf went for Severus.

Severus negligently caught him in mid air, flicked him, and dropped him on his back.

There was a loud crack.

"Oh dear, I believe I acted in instinct and have broken his neck" said Severus evenly. "Perhaps I SHOULD have used my wand; but one hesitates to draw wand on an unarmed man."

"You are a very dangerous man, Herr Professor" said Bertulf.

Severus surveyed him. His black eyes glittered.

"Any man who is a family man is dangerous to those who deliberately try to threaten all that he holds dear, Mein Herr" he said. "Your friend at least appears pleased."

"Poor little Emil" said Bertulf in tones of some contempt "He fawns ever on the strongest, and does what he can to hurt the enemies of his current sponsor in whatever mean and petty way he can. He will love you less when he realises he cannot have such maidens as he desires by threatening to bite their families."

Severus regarded Emil thoughtfully.

"I see" he said "I thought he recalled to me one whom I pity and would care for…. I see that there are less similarities than I thought for though you speak in dislike I read truth in your eyes. Take him back to your prince and report that your mission was a success; that you found the secret of my potion and that he might have done so also had he only been able to read."

"That I shall hardly report" said Bertolf dryly.

"I would know your name" said Severus "You appear to me rational and well balanced for one who has fought the disease for twenty years".

"I am Bertolf Hochbesen" said the ex werewolf, clicking his heels.

"You would be of an age with Von Frettchen I think" said Severus.

"Yes; he is a couple of years my senior but I chose to fag for him because he was a man to know" said Hochbesen "He stood my friend when Grausulf Fluch bit me; and also got me my command. You seem to know much so I think I do no harm explaining this."

"Yes; for most of my experimental subjects were volunteers" said Severus "Those who felt betrayed by their prince's dishonour; those who felt that setting werewolves on children was unacceptable. If you have any pride in yourself I trust you will search your own feelings as Wulf Luytens did. His own eyes on the use of dementors against my family made up HIS mind for him. However, if you serve Eduard Von Frettchen you have seen only the honourable side of Odessa; and I truly believe that he will be glad for you, his friend, that you are cured. I dare say we shall meet again on opposite sides of the fight."

"After all that you expect to let us go and walk free?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I saddle myself with prisoners?" he said "If I thought you an evil man I should duel you and kill you. I do not. And if you will only tell Von Frettchen the truth about my potion and tell him to leave us alone then I am satisfied. I have a school to run; Odessa will fall apart without my having to help it on its way. I really have no interest in the melodramatic megalomaniac mediocrity of His Chubbyness Prince Gerhardt. Please take this Emil creature with you; it nauseates me. There has to be someone in your organisation that likes having his arse licked."

Hochbesen nodded.

"Very well; I will pass your messages to Herzog Von Frettchen." He said, clicking his heels again. "Come Emil; we leave."

Emil cast Severus a look of piteous pleading; but Severus ignored it.

Peter Pettigrew would play mean tricks on those he thought had wronged him and took delight in the cruel jokes of others; but forcing himself on girls by threatening such horrible retribution was beyond him, Severus was certain. He might have demeaned himself to Voldemort and asked that such and such a girl be made available to him, and not asked how this came about; but that was a sin of omission rather than of commission.

And the creature that was Emil made Severus sick.

So that was the next spying attempt.

Von Frettchen would not be best pleased that they were not to stay in the castle finding out all they might; but that was his problem.

Bertulf Hochbesen had not expressed any gratitude; but that he was no longer a werewolf was, Severus had seen in the man's thoughts, a matter of wild exaltation to him.

There was a woman in the case, perhaps the one he had failed to marry because of being bitten.

Severus actually wished him luck and hoped he would learn the happiness and contentment he had himself learned with Krait.

He smiled at his diminutive wife who as always understood him perfectly.

"I'll get Sirri" she said.

Severus sighed in happiness and took Dione by the hand to lead her through into his private quarters where he and his wives might relax after a slightly tense episode.

He was the luckiest man in the world!

Life meanwhile went on.

The weather was bad; and though dancing, duelling, card games and story-telling relieved some of the boredom, spirits were high and younger people were a little restive.

When the greater majority of the first decided that Mona Mordaunt, of the lower sixth, was getting rather stuffy and inclined to shout at perfectly innocent games – noisy games of exploding snap for example – they decided she needed livening up and 'unstuffing' as BaHH put it.

Rubber snakes and spiders being declared too utterly passé, and there being no opportunity to make snowballs to bring in to throw at her they devised, with the aid of several library books, a charm in which they could catch part of the descending snow from outside, waft it to a good ambush site, and release the charm to bring the joys of snow to Mona.

All of which went very smoothly.

Until Mona was actually being snowed upon; whereat she, in BaHH's words, flipped totally; and seized random giggling firsts and started laying about them with fists and feet.

She had hold of little Cecilia Villeneuve and had trapped the child's head under one arm while she laid about her back and backside with her heavy book.

The noise attracted Jade Snape out of her study – herself in a less than rosy mood since she and Wulf had been enjoying an amorous interlude – to see whether the sky had fallen or merely world war three had broken out as Jade put it.

"WHAT is the meaning of this? Stop at once, all of you!" said Jade, for partisan first years were trying to rescue Cecilia.

The first years stopped.

Mona did not.

Jade's eyes narrowed – it was a heavy book that was being used in chastisement – and she apported Cecelia directly into her own arms.

"Whatever the little wretches may have done, Mona THAT was scarcely called for" said Jade coldly. "Why is the floor wet?"

"Because we wanted to liven up Mona as she's so bossy and not even a pre and so we brought her her own snowstorm" said Blaise.

Jade blinked.

Things MUST have got on top of the first if BLAISE was involved.

"Very well; you will clear up the mess and I will see you in my office in half an hour when you are done; Mona I will see you in a quarter hour after that" said Jade coldly "Not you, Cecilia, I want to check you out in case any serious damage has happened to your back."

Mona flushed.

"I wasn't hitting her that hard" she said.

"It looked pretty damn hard to me" said Jade "And last sixth former who claimed not to be hurting a child landed ME in St Mungo's with a separated shoulder when I was a weevil. I'm not going to discuss it in front of weevils; I'll see you in three quarters of an hour, Mona, I suggest you change out of those wet things. And those of you kids who are wet can change too; you'll just have to hurry."

Wulf had sighed quietly to himself.

So much for a quiet romantic evening with his wife explaining her homework by giggling over how little she required amortentia potion.

At least they were able to sleep together; and that was nice, to listen to Jade's soft even breathing on the other side of the big feather bed they shared as well as the chance to be amorous when there was time!

He apparated away to their room so Jade could examine Cecilia's back with her wand without the child asking what Professor Luytens wanted.

He did precious little teaching really; but he knew Severus valued him as a fighter against Odessa as well as a friend.

Jade ran her wand down Cecilia's back.

"No lasting damage littleun!" said the Head Girl cheerfully "Here, let me rub some bruise ointment on it….. it'll be sore otherwise and I can't think you'd been doing anything to warrant that level of punishment."

"It's all right" said Cecilia "I'm fine."

"Sure kid; let's make you finer" said Jade.

The bruises were already coming out and looked ugly.

Jade scowled

"That's more than a lotion worth" she said and waved her wand. "_episkayo_" she said "There, that should be better."

"Gosh, yes, thanks Jade!" said Cecilia in real relief.

"Ok kiddie, you've been punished more than enough so cut along to your common room and stay out of trouble there" said Jade.

It was not long before the rest of the conspirators trooped in, some with damp hair and most with sodden feet.

Jade looked pointedly at the way feet squelched into her office.

"When I've done with you lot, you can change your shoes and socks for slippers and take your shoes to the kitchen and ask nicely if the elves will dry them and return them to you" she said sternly "Do you WANT to catch loathsome diseases? In this cold, having wet feet almost ASKS for it! I accept that you forgot your shoes and were NOT being deliberately disobedient when I told you to get into dry things; but honestly!"

Several faces burned.

As the only ones who were NOT there – apart from Cecilia – were Antti and Eve, the two Jade considered to be prigs, she asked Blaise,

"Since you don't usually cut up larks, Blaise, and are a voice of reason, pray explain to me a bit more coherently than your previous diatribe wherein lay your problem with Mona Mordaunt and your solution thereof."

"Well, you see" said Blaise "Mona has been snapping at us whenever she comes past our common room if we're not being like little mice – she barged in on a game of exploding snap and threw the cards in the fire. And she's not even a prefect so we were a bit peeved you know. And it's not the first time she's got at us for not even being naughty!" he added aggrieved "So we thought we might as well rag her and get screamed at FOR something."

"There's a warped logic in that" said Jade . "You lot, do you swear on your honour that you were feeling aggrieved for being interfered with IN YOUR OWN COMMON ROOM?"

"Yes Jade" said BaHH instantly, the other murmuring assent.

"And she came into your common room to tick you off and threw your cards in the fire in your common room?" pursued Jade.

"Yes Jade, and we weren't doing anything forbidden!" said Yrdl.

"Oh!" said Batty "School rules!"

"Quite" said Jade. "If you'd been anywhere else you'd have been writing a round Robin begging her pardon for getting her wet. As it is you emulate Bre'r Rabbit my poppets and lie low and say nuffin' – not a gloat nor a rag nor anything as a first move, y'all here me?"

They giggled.

Jade did a very good Uncle Remus.

Jade shoo'd them out; and presently Mona arrived.

"I hope you set those horrid brats a stiff impot Jade!" she said straight away "I don't want to complain but those brats run riot without regard for the feelings of anyone else!"

"Mona you're on the carpet for theft and blatant ignoring of the school rules" said Jade coldly. "Not to mention actual bodily harm; and as you're over seventeen by three days, Madam and Monsieur Villeneuve COULD lay criminal charges."

Mona stared open mouthed.

"What? Surely I didn't hurt the brat that much! She wasn't howling – OW!"

Jade slapped her hard.

"Listen you moron, a kid like Cecilia SCORNS to howl – as I did when Fenella half killed ME at her age! I saw the bruises – the sort of bruises that if a father lays on his own kid can get him six months in Azkaban! AND I'd have to testify if asked! I healed the child because I really think you DIDN't have any idea how hard you were skelping the kid! If I were you the less you make excuses for yourself over that disgraceful bit of bullying the better – but how you have the cheek to demand impots when it's YOU who have been at fault I do not know!"

"Well if they accused me of stealing and breaking rules they're lying!" said Mona "And I hope you punish them for that!"

"You have always respected the school rules and never taken anything belonging to others with intent to permanently deprive then?" asked Jade silkily.

"Never!" said Mona virtuously.

"Funny then that all those first year kids should be adamant that you came into their common room, screeched at them for playing noisily and threw their exploding snap cards into the fire" said Jade equally silkily.

"I – well, yes I did. What of it?" said Mona crossly "You don't defend those little pests for being little nuisances, surely?"

"Mona, Mona!" said Jade "How you can tell lies and then claim you weren't for a girl who's as loud as you on moral rectitude is beyond me!"

"What do you mean?"

"Item; it is a school rule that NO other person save a member of staff or a prefect may enter another age group's common room without invitation. Flagrant and blatant rule breaking to even GO in there!"

"I – well, I'm in the sixth which is almost the same thing" said Mona.

Jade jumped to her feet and stood uncomfortably close to Mona.

"NO IT ISN'T!" she shouted at her. "And WHY isn't it? Because there are some people – such as yourself – that cannot be trusted with the job of prefect; either those too lazy or slapdash to pull their weight, or those like you who are such officious moaning little gits that they'd think they'd been given the job of second-class Voldemorts to throw their weight around – as you do you Moaning Muttonhead without even BEING a prefect! In their off time the kids have a perfect right to make as much row as they choose! If you were going about your lawful occasions you wouldn't be near enough to them to HEAR them – because they're next to the prep room and that's out of bounds in leisure hours as you should well know! So, you were out of bounds; you illegally entered a younger group's common room and then you took and permanently deprived them of the snap cards by burning them. Which is worse than theft, it's destruction of property and arson my girl. Destruction of the Headmaster's property; because he buys games for the kiddies out of his own pocket. Now I'm wondering if I need to put you on Head's report for regular bounds breaking – because the way those kids were talking it was NOT an isolated incident – interference that could be construed as bullying of the little ones and stealing from Professor Snape. Isn't pretty, is it?"

Mona goggled.

"But – but – I – I" was all she managed.

"Goats butt" said Jade coldly "And come to think of it you really have made a goat of yourself, haven't you Mona? If I hadn't been tied up with this ruddy Triwizard I might have noticed you bullying the kids earlier; and stepped on it. But you know, I don't think you'd have listened, or rather it would have gone in one ear and out the other because you're such a sanctimonious, self righteous stuck up ass you'd have thought the kids were moaning about nothing. Well, look at this!" she put up an illusion of Cecilia's back. "THAT's a true picture of what you inflicted on that child; putting that in a pensieve for a Wizgamot to look at would NOT do you any favours! They do NOT moan about nothing; and the only time they rag older ones is if the older ones jolly well deserve it; and that's a universal law of weevils I assure you!" Jade's eyes flashed green fire. "That is NOT acceptable behaviour any more than your interfering is. You will make me a promise – written – never to enter a junior common room save in a dire emergency ever again; and you will promise to stay AWAY from the juniors for the rest of your school career. And on the completion of those promises I will not make you apologise to the little ones nor will I go to the Head. Break the promises and the report on this that I will write WILL go to the head. And when I am left it shall be held by my successor. Do you understand?"

"Yes Jade!" said Mona, thoroughly frightened. It had not occurred to her that rules about using prep rooms or entering other common rooms should apply as equally to someone as well intentioned as herself; and that she was accused of theft of the Headmaster's property for a fit of temper was horrifying. "Please, I so HATE practical jokes because – because of what happens at home!"

Jade sat back.

"All right; I'm prepared to listen."

"We live next door to this awful, awful woman – Elladora Guffy her name is – and she's always playing practical jokes on the family, like charming garden furniture to spin suddenly very fast; and you know how sick you can feel at – at certain times of the month; and she just LAUGHS if you throw up!"

"Crumbs!" said Jade "All right; I think you've every excuse to feel sore about the practical joke; may I tell the kids why?"

"Yes" said Mona.

"Right. They'll sympathise I'm sure; they're decent little brats. But I'll still have those written promises; because you have NO excuse for the other heavy handedness. Can't you get a Wizgamot injunction on her?"

Mona shook her head.

"They said it wasn't serious enough."

Jade made a rude noise.

"They would if they had to live next door to an inveterate joker…..heh heh, I've a solution….. I'll get those brats to put their heads together for some jokes to play on Madam Guffy. I guarantee if we let loose a dozen or so eleven and twelve year olds on her she'll never want to see another practical joke in her life. Maybe some of them could visit you at home and see about it – IF you're prepared to meet them half way."

Mona nodded.

"I didn't mean to break rules" she said in a small voice.

"Very well; I believe you" said Jade. "Now go away and get your face washed; it's almost time for Kaffee und kuchen. Hey ho! Another Sunday almost gone!"

It may be recorded that the juniors WERE very sympathetic over the proximity of an inveterate practical joker; and their leisure hours for several days were kept moderately quiet by the writing out of various schemes of revenge, some of which were even practical and feasible.

"And at least the ones that aren't should give you a good laugh" said Jade, handing the blotted and untidy sheaf of notes to Mona. "I LOVE the one about feeding her canary custards, casting a permanency charm and putting her in a cage."

Even Mona had to smile about that!

Which as her school nickname was Moany Mona was quite good going!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The rest of the school never quite knew what had happened between Mona Mordaunt and the Head Girl; but it was noticed that the lower sixth girl was less sanctimonious on the subject of the minor transgressions of others afterwards; and Jade was hailed by the rest of the lower sixth as a genius, or in Seagh's words, 'ma sisther aye has her noggin screwed weel doon'.

The next fracas came from the second.

Silvina Brewer was smarting under the detentions at the hands of Professor Snape who, once people went out of their way to irritate him – and especially when they lied to him – was inclined in the slang of the average wart or weevil to be 'scruciatingly waxy'.

Silvina was not the cleverest child in the class; and she found keeping up at the best of times a bit of a struggle. She was also inclined to sulk over assignments she felt unfairly long or boring; and her work tended to be returned regularly to be re-done.

Which meant that Silvina felt that she was wallowing under a mountain of work.

And instead of going to those Professors from whom she had the greatest work load – she was redoing two essays for Krait as well as working on the current assignment – and saying that she could not cope and needed more time or extra help the silly child merely brooded on her wrongs and sulked.

However, Silvina had come up with what she thought was a solution.

One of her classmates, Vya, was an elf.

Elves had to do what they were told – or so thought Silvina. Accordingly she beckoned Vya over and said,

"Here, you write this assignment for me."

Vya was not long free; but she had learned ways to get round direct orders from her mother even before she was free. And this girl had no right to give her orders.

"Excuse me?" said Vya "What did your last slave die of?"

It was a phrase she had heard Jade use laughingly in the holidays when small Lilith had demanded a cup of hot chocolate as Jade was up and about. Lilith had flushed and said 'pretty please nicely' and Jade had then done as she had been asked.

And if Silvina was prepared to be polite Vya was certainly not averse to HELPING with her work.

Silvina however flushed.

"Don't be insolent!" she said "You're an elf; you have to do what I tell you because I'm a human."

Vya gave a jeering laugh.

"Flo" she called to her best friend "Here's an oddity; a little racist who thinks I should wait on her hand and foot because I am an elf."

Flo came over and peered at Silvina.

"I can't SEE any atrophying of the brain yet" she said "It's not running out of her nose and ears yet. P'haps it just shrivels up to nothing inside the skull and rattles when you shake it."

Silvina flushed again. Flo had a too clever tongue for her! She went to slap Flo.

This was a silly thing to do because Flo belonged to the MSHG and swayed effortlessly out of the way.

"Well I shall report you for disobeying me!" said Silvina to Vya.

"Well I wonder who to?" said Vya. "You have no rights over me; any more than you do over Flo, and I bet you'd never DARE talk to AHHa the way you have been to me!"

"Well HE'S a human!" said Silvina.

"Gosh I wish I knew the prefect woodlouse curse" said Flo. "hey, AHHa, do you marauders know how to woodlouse people?"

"What?" said AHHa "Why, who's being racist?"

"Silvina" said Flo "Trying to order Vya about."

"I SAY!" said AHHa "Can't have that. You apologise, Brewer right now."

"Shan't" said Silvina "She OUGHT to obey me."

"And if you ask me, even if I was her slave, getting someone else to write her assignments is pretty stupid 'cos then she won't know the work when it comes to the exams" said Vya. "And she isn't supposed to have work in the common room anyhow."

"Stupid as well as racist? Oh but of course the two go hand in hand" said AHHa. "I don't know the woodlouse curse but I know a pretty good one" and he cast the arachnonunculous curse.

Silvina screeched as her skin erupted in wriggling hairy legs.

"Nice" said Flo "Or rather, not."

"I'm going to tell!" howled Silvina.

"Do" said AHHa equably "Then we can explain why I did it and you'll get to be a woodlouse at the wand of whoever you sneak to. I'll take it off before the next time we meet other people; in the meantime you can wear it to see what we think of nasty bullying little racists with – with delusions of adequacy" he added borrowing hard from Jade's idiom.

Silvina glowered at him.

Well he had jinxed her so he couldn't complain if she retaliated!

"_Diffindo!"_ she shouted, jerking her wand violently.

AHHa shouted

"_protego!"_ and had the shield spell up in time; but Silvina's wand work was sloppy and violent; and the broad movement of her indicated cut took in Flo as well.

The cut opened in Flo's neck and blood spurted wildly. Vya screamed and jumped to hold the wound together.

AHHa knew this was beyond him; and sent a bloodpulse wildly to Severus as the hardest person he knew.

The Headmaster appeared with a small CRAC, took in the immediate emergency and was healing the awful, life-sapping cut with but a glance, then swept the little girl up in his arms and disapparated with her.

Fred had come over by this time and proceeded to lay Silvina out.

George, the fourth of the little group also came over and put a hand on Fred's shoulder.

"Severus is the works you know old man" he said in a voice that was also trying to convince himself "He'll have taken her to the dungeon to get blood replenishing potions."

"You go; I'll keep a watch on THIS" said AHHa coldly looking at the moaning figure of Silvina Brewer as she started to come to.

The other three exited the common room

Flo was lying on a table in the dungeon while Krait propped her up and Severus induced her to drink the draughts. Her twin went to seize one hand, Vya the other and George stroked her shoulder.

"What happened, Fred?" asked Severus in a tight voice.

"I'm not entirely sure sir" said Fred, deeply upset "There was a quarrel with Brewer over something she said to Vya and AHHa stuck his oar in. I – I wasn't listening I'm afraid; I was arranging my chocolate frog cards in an album I made for them."

Severus brushed his hair with a kindly hand. How like Fred to make an album to keep his chocolate frog cards tidy!

"Then perhaps Vya can throw more light on the matter?"

Vya hesitated.

"Isn't it sneaking and not done to tell?"

"Not, my good kiddy, when your friend might have died had I not been as good as I am" said Severus grimly.

"Oh" said Vya looking frightened. "Well it started because Silvina ordered me to do an assignment for her…."

"ORDERED?" interrupted Krait

"And in the common room?" demanded Severus.

Vya nodded.

"Yes, ma'am, sir. And I asked her what her last slave had died of and she said I was insolent and had to do as she ordered because she was a human and Flo came over and told her she was a racist and asked AHHa if he knew the woodlouse curse and he told her to apologise and she refused point blank and he said he didn't know the woodlouse curse but he knew another and made her grow spiderlegs all over and said he'd take it off at teatime but she ought to know what people thought of her being racist. And then she cast the cutting spell on him and he put up the shield but the end of her wand movement caught Flo."

"You mean she used so wild and broad a motion with her wand it went right past him? Show me her wand motion" said Severus.

Vya demonstrated.

Severus paled.

"Merlin's bedsocks if AHHa hadn't been so fast we'd have had two kids wounded to death on our hands!" he said. Vya looked sick and Fred passed out.

Four children were carried into the private sitting room of the Snapes and deposited in comfy chairs and sofas while Severus sent for private tea.

"And send for Miss Brewer to come to my office" he said grimly to Lana who loved to be the family's personal maid.

In the common room Silvina Brewer was ticking off AHHa for sending for the head and sneaking over a little cut when he'd done far worse than she had when Lana turned up.

"The headmaster wants to see Miss Brewer in his office!" she squeaked.

"YOU! This is your doing!" cried Silvina to AHHa.

AHHa ignored her.

"Please – sorry, miss elf, I don't know your name – is Flo going to live?" he demanded.

Lana beamed at him.

"Thanks to clever Master Severus!" she said "She looks very bad but he will cure her even if he has to send for unicorn blood from his tame unicorn! You is a good and clever boy to send for Master Severus or she would surely have died!"

AHHa looked relieved.

"Oh don't tell such lies, elf!" said Silvina "It was only a little cut!"

Lana eyed her thoughtfully; and slapped her hard.

"You is a racist little dung-head!" she said.

"You said it!" agreed AHHa. "Get to the Head, Brewer; he don't take kindly to miscreants hanging him about!"

Silvina went defiantly to the Head's office. She was still under the arachnonunculus curse and aggrieved about that too.

Severus was white with fury; and Silvina actually quailed.

"So" said Severus "You try to kill two of my pupils. What am I to do with a would be murderess?"

"It was only a little cut!" said Silvina "Flo's making a big fuss about nothing!"

"HOW DARE YOU?" roared Severus "I SAW THE CUT, REMEMBER? I HAD TO HEAL IT WHEN THE CHILD WAS JUST SECONDS FROM DEATH! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT ONE OF THE MAJOR ARTORIES OF THE BODY RUNS THROUGH THE NECK? Surely you realise that cutting the throat is a way to murder people?" he resumed a more normal voice.

Silvina gasped.

"But – that's cutting through to the windpipe!"

"No, actually it isn't" said Severus coldly "It is cutting the major blood vessels that kills long before the windpipe closes and fails to suck in air. And moreover, tell me if the cut to Flo was not the back end of a broad sweep of the wand like this across AHHa?"

He demonstrated as Vya had done.

"I – I don't really remember" said Silvina.

"How convenient for you" said Severus softly.

Somehow his soft silky tones were more menacing than the shouting.

He placed his wand to her forehead and drew forth a silvery strand.

"What are you doing?" said Silvina in panic.

"I thought we should help you to remember by looking at your own memory; your memories are there however difficult you find it to access them" he said. The silvery strand of thoughts were dipping into a big bowl with symbols carved in it and one chip on the edge. "Now, let us observe the whole incident."

Silvina was terrified as he came round the desk, gripped her by the arm and plunged her into her own memories of the incident – from the beginning. Severus watched without comment.

"So" he said as they emerged and his wand restored her thoughts to her head again "You cast the cutting spell with intent to hurt. With so violent a movement you might easily, had AHHa not been so good at shield spells, have been a double murderess. I have rarely come across a child so ready to rip open the belly of an enemy, even an enemy who is given to constant bullying and hurting. Which I somehow doubt that a lad like AHHa was inclined to do. You are a vicious child! As well as racist, bullying, and a rule breaker in having assignments in the common room."

"I have too much work, how else am I to get it done?" whined Silvina.

"If you did it properly in the first place instead of skimping and handing in work that looks as though you spent no more than five minutes on it you would not get so many assignments returned" said Severus "And if that makes your work load to heavy then you should be asking for remedial lessons and help not doing assignments in the common room! But THAT piece of trouble is the very least! How DARE you set yourself up as better than any other pupil – especially as Vya has virtually caught up on the work of the last year and a term as well as getting HER assignments in on time and completed? She is an infinitely better scholar than you are, and frankly if you cannot mend your attitude I would rather have her in my school than you; and I am seriously considering expulsion."

Silvina burst into tears for this.

"Oh please don't expel me!" she howled

"Why should I not? You do not seem to take advantage of the educational opportunities you are offered; you are self willed enough to virtually ignore the work you find irrelevant, forgetting conveniently that your Professors would not set work that was irrelevant and that you have either therefore missed a salient point or will discover one in later years" he said coldly "You are uninterested in the social life at school – I don't believe you belong to a single club organised or spontaneous – and you have absolutely failed to absorb the fact that we fought Voldemort in order to do away with the sort of racism that you seem to hold as inherent to your being. What are you getting out of school? I could offer your place to plenty of others who would leap at the chance of education and who would bend over backwards to fit in."

Silvina just sobbed.

She could hardly say it was because her brothers would rag her about it and her parents would be furious.

If they were to be told she had nearly murdered two children even Silvina could see they might have some cause, too.

Severus regarded her with hooded eyes.

"I need to know that you are actually sorry for what you have done; and not just sorry for being caught at it" he said "That you feel some remorse for nearly killing Flo and intending to kill AHHa."

"I didn't intend to kill AHHa! I wanted to HURT him for making me be covered in these horrid things!" said Silvina.

"Well the arachnonunculus curse is an ingenious substitute for the woodlouse curse – unless you have a terror of spiders. But as he has seen you handling spiders in the potions dungeon, as I have, AHHa knows you have no such phobia and was not, therefore, acting irresponsibly" said Severus "Don't you feel that having peer justice was better than being reported for racism? He'd have been justified in reporting that you know; where serious bullying is concerned it goes beyond sneaking. You look puzzled Miss Brewer; surely you see that demanding work from Vya was bullying?"

"But she's an ELF! Elves are supposed to work hard for other people!"

She gasped at the look of fury on the head's face.

"Do you not know that elves only do as they do because of a long ago curse laid into their very heritance that acts as the Imperious Curse – one of the three unforgivable curses?" he said in a tight, angry voice "Do you think that those of us who chanted the eight hour curse to break it did that for FUN? Or that Lucius Malfoy risked his life at the centre of the ritual in some light amusement? We did what we did because elves SHOULD not work for other people because slavery itself is wrong and enslavement of the spirit with such a curse demeans and shames all humankind; and anyone who thinks that elves SHOULD obey implicitly and hurt themselves for even thinking angry thoughts about their owners is sick and loathsome! Try thinking about how often you have resented me; and then imagine having a compulsion that, every time you resented me, meant you had to bang your head against a wall or burn yourself! You are free to resent me all you like – as I am free to resent you for your nasty ways spoiling my school – but that does not interfere with you carrying on YOUR way of life. You do NOT have to hurt yourself. Elves are beings like humans or goblins; enslaved elves act as they do because of an evil from humans that has forced them to do so. That is OUR bad; which is why WE had to deal with it. I can't deal with you now; you make me too angry with your truculent stubborn stupidity. Get out of my sight and go to bed; I don't want to see you again until tomorrow morning before breakfast. You may not read and you can miss supper. A hot drink will be brought for you at supper time. GO!"

Silvina fled in terror.

Still under the arachnonunculus curse on her.

In the morning Silvina said,

"I'll say whatever you want me to say, only don't expel me!"

Severus regarded her thoughtfully.

"But saying isn't meaning, is it?" he said sadly. "You have a blight within your mind; doubtless learned from your parents; but if you never take on board the lessons of others who despise such views then I fear you do not fit in. I will try talking to your parents. If they will work with me in dispelling your foolish and wrong ideas then I may be able to give you another chance. You had better take yourself to the sick bay and hold yourself in quarantine away from decent children."

Silvina stumbled out, sobbing; and Severus sighed and contacted her parents by owl.

The interview with the parents was not satisfactory.

They were shocked at first, trying to find out if there had been any kind of misunderstanding; until it was mentioned that the girl she was trying to bully was an elf.

Brewer's comments so incensed Severus that the conversation rapidly went downhill from there and Severus suggested that the only suitable school for the racist brat of racist parents was Durmstrang since no decent school would take her.

Brewer's response was to say that he would withdraw his child and complain to the ministry; and Severus told him coldly that his child was expelled and could not therefore be withdrawn. He had taken her wand from her; and broke it summarily over his knee suggesting that she might actually be happier at Durmstrang where self willed selfish children who had the manners of apes towards non humans were welcomed.

They left with their daughter almost immediately; and Severus warned Dumbledore and Madam Maxime of the child's attitudes and vicious temper.

Madam Maxime, who had decided that it was now fashionable to be only part human, had been more frank of late about her giant blood, standing by Dumbledore to cock a snoot at the Germans by taking in half bloods readily if not yet certain about full blood goblins; and so a racist would never appeal to HER! And Dumbledore would back Severus in his expulsion of a child unsuited to be with decent children without her learning a great deal more, and so would not take her into Hogwarts whatever his belief in his own abilities to mould her.

And Brewer had heard enough from his son Anastasius about his visits to Durmstrang to feel certain that the institutionalised bullying there was not for his daughter!

When he complained to Madam Marchbanks – who had received a full written report of the expulsion from Severus as was only proper – he found her unsympathetic too and suggesting only Durmstrang as a possible alternative.

Silvina was starting to feel some small pangs of remorse; though she said nothing.

The idea that elves were cursed with an unforgivable curse had started to impinge and her father's loud denunciations of Professor Snape and all his works grated. Silvina-like however she kept her silence and said nothing of the doubts she was having about her father's words.

She was to have a governess to teach her; and would use her brothers' text books.

There was a bit of an outburst when she looked in her brothers' second year books and declared it baby-work and an insult; since she was covering in the second the sort of work that Hellibore's boys generally covered at the end of the third; Silvina might skimp assignments and be a bit lazy but equally she refused to have her intelligence insulted. As the books had been good enough for her father he shouted at her to this effect; and Silvina screeched back that this was why he only had six OWLs and two NEWTs and why none of Hellibore's boys were anywhere in the Triwizard and why everyone else laughed at them.

At this point Mr Brewer almost did send her to Durmstrang!

Silvina was devastated; but it had been her own fault.

And she was finally, too late, beginning to realise that.

And her little sister, who knew well that she had now also lost a chance of education at a school with high academic standards was planning many a revenge too; and Celestina had a cruel and vindictive streak to her that would never forgive her sister.

Silvina was at least lucky in her governess; a woman of the school generation below that of Constance Hardbroom and Myrtle who had been teaching for years and had the firmness to keep even preschool boys in line but a sense of humour withal and a fine sense of justice.

Olive MacMillan had astounded her family by being a Gryffindor; and she managed to draw Silvina out about the whole sorry mess. And to get the child to discuss her beliefs and prejudices with her without making comment save to ask Silvina whether she thought that she was correct in such beliefs. And Silvina admitted that she no longer knew. Olive had never thought of the elf question herself until the news had burst about them having a curse within; and so she told Silvina. And Olive called in a favour from Alastor Moody and asked him to put the child under the imperious curse so she could see what it was like. Alastor was reluctant; but in the circumstances agreed.

Silvina was horrified.

Olive recommended to the child that she write to Severus Snape and beg his pardon and tell him that she understood a little better now; after having given him a little time to cool down. And this Silvina resolved to do.

That her parents might fail to agree did not for a moment cross her mind!

This was however for the future; and she settled down to learn from Madam MacMillan who agreed heartily that the books the Hellibore's boys had were so many nursery rhymes.

She used her own books from the Hogwarts' curriculum – she updated as required – which in fact tallied with those Silvina was used to.

Olive had taught many a girl felt 'too delicate' to go away to school, including those who really were, like little Elsie Blackwood who had been a delight to coach, unlike many for whom the parent epithet 'delicate' stood for 'spoilt little monster of vanity'.

Silvina was a difficult, prickly child with some odd ideas about only doing the work she felt like doing in addition to her racist attitudes; and both came from her father, for the Hellibore boys were accustomed to getting away with making excuses if they wanted to skive.

With that being one reason for her father's poor academic showing as a glaring fact in her face, Silvina had little excuse to shirk.

And Olive taught because she enjoyed it; not because she had to make her way in the world, and thus could afford to say her piece if she felt it needed saying without caring if she got turned off.

And this child sorely needed a mentor with more backbone than her snivelling mother who parroted that 'father is always right' – no wonder the creep was such an arrogant swine! – and a fool of a father. Olive did not know Severus Snape – he had come into the school after she had left – but she knew some of the people he disliked and in disliking the likes of Gormund Yaxley and Odilia Malfoy Yaxley he could not be that bad.

None of this was known back in Prince Peak of course; where the heavy heartedness of having to expel a girl was somewhat dispelled by the better weather and the chance for the children to get out and play quidditch. The spring term weather could be miserable; the first part of it saw romps in the snow often enough but as the weather began to turn the snow was melting and dangerous and avalanches were a real possibility. Quidditch however was above the ground so neither slush not mud were a problem.

There were some very good juniors coming on, including Arbrek whose skill was great enough that having a fine broom was well worth the while. As much of the second were also keen and not bad, it was possible to put together a junior seven to play the seniors, which would be good practise for both.

The first seven had three spaces to fill; for the two beaters and the keeper of the year before had left the school after NEWTs; and so had the reserve, for other reasons. Miranda Potts had stayed for a year after the school went co-educational; but had been foolish enough to describe the quidditch match against the Hellibore boys for she loved quidditch.

She had been withdrawn at the end of the year since she was made to play 'nasty unladylike games'.

Nobody had liked Miranda much; she was rather self opinionated. But it was felt a shame to blight a potential career like that, and the girl was much pitied and even sent surreptitious messages from girls who might otherwise have ignored her.

Ron placed the Lowther twins as beaters.

"It's the position my twin brothers played" he said "If you don't feel happy with it, we'll shift you around with the big ones; only Seagh, Jem and Angelica are used to playing chaser together. We'll muck around with positions a bit over the next couple of terms anyway as there's not going to be any fixtures with the Triwizard"

The twins were delighted! As they had talked their way into the school in the first place in light of their performance on brooms they were chuffed to represent their school!

As for the keeper, Ron asked Victor.

"You were second team at Hogwarts I believe" he said "Like Seagh."

Victor nodded.

"There's a lot of talent at Hogwarts" he said "I never tried out for keeper; there was never a shortage there because there was Hawke Malfoy and then Lionel Dell. I'll certainly do my best!"

It turned out that Victor had a certain amount of talent in the position, flinging himself about attached often precariously to his broomstick to make saves; and Ron was well content with the experiment of trying him. His friend Ulrich Grindler was reserve, more from enjoyment of the game that had been closed to him – watching or playing – as a werewolf than from a real skill. His younger brother was however more adept; and was thrilled to play as beater beside second year Fred Visick.

Rose Hubble and Kate Grant had been contenders for the seeker when Ron had looked idly at the possibility of a junior team the year before; but Arbrek surpassed them and his cup overflowed to be junior seeker! Rose and Kate were to be chasers with George Ingate; George was a steady player rather than an inspired one, but he was very good at feeding passes to the two girls. Sandalla was keeper and AHHa was reserve. Ron had joked the previous year that he would play Rose as Keeper where looking like you ought to be roped together was actually an advantage; but Rose was a fast and nippy player wasted on keeper, whereas Sandalla was quite a lanky child whose long limbs were an advantage to a keeper.

And when in the informal matches running up to the end of term the second seven actually managed a win over the first from the four matches they played they were over the moon!

And the school teams played a lot fairer than those of the world cup; though that was in part encouraged by David Fraser, refereeing, who quickly picked up on school level cheating and dropped exotic curses on the offenders such that inveterate cobbers had a version of the jelly-legs jinx in terms of the jelly-elbow jinx cast on them; and chasers who engaged in stooging found their broomsticks getting uncomfortably hot if they got too close to each other. These were the two main offences school players seemed to commit; in addition to the odd surreptitious but usually moderately harmless jinx casting. Of course, he could not resort to such discouragement as an international referee – more was the pity – but stopping such things at a school level might lead to cleaner games on the national and international level.

Maybe.

However, a good time was had by all; and the Easter holidays were upon them before they realised it; for Easter was early this year! And the OWL and NEWT students had much to consider for the exams too were to be a week earlier than usual to take the Triwizard into account!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

There were no Durmstrang watchers at the station this term; but there were Swiss Ministry officials and Aurors and Jade thanked them prettily for taking the trouble.

Loading up the train was relatively hassle free; Rose had actually managed to get her trunk fairly well packed, and Jade only hoped that this was not because she had left half her kit behind.

Summer clothes were less bulky after all.

The train did come to a stop on the way however.

Jade went forward.

"Landslide blocking the line" said the driver laconically. "Be hours before it's cleared."

"Hmmph" said Jade "Well I suppose even I can't blame Odessa for THAT; we're in avalanche country in the avalanche season. I'll leave you in charge of bringing the train in as best you can; tell the diggers when they come we've hired a helicopter. In fact, when I've got the kids clear, take the train back to Zurich. We're still on the private line aren't we?"

"Yes Gnadige Fraulein" said the driver.

"Then I'll leave you to organise digging it out by local workers" said Jade. She contacted her father by bloodpulse and let him open communication to report.

The pupils would be removed by a mix of side-along apportation and the helicopter; David, as a skilled geomancer would speed its passage along ley lines and between nodes. Jade was glad that she had sailed through her pregnancy so far; trans-nodal travel could be bad for the travel sick at the best of times, though David was a sight smoother at doing it than Ernie Prang on the Knightbus. She did not show yet; though she would by the time of the third task of the Triwizard. Still, since the Wizarding Wireless Vision was entirely magical, vision-repelling spells on her belly would work on those viewing the broadcasts too. Actually she had been remarkably vibrant and well through it so far and had needed none of the potions her father had prepared. Which was all good. There seemed to be a correlation so far between children born of the deep joining and excellent pregnancies; which was worth watching for in future as a matter of interest to speculate on.

The school was duly transported, most of the younger ones fortunately considering it quite a lark; and only the older ones shuddering and considering the implications had the train been passing that spot at the moment the avalanche fell.

And only the truly paranoid older ones – which is to say the prowling Marauders and Seagh – keeping an eye out in case the avalanche HAD been set off by Odessa to delay the train and do something violent.

There was no sign of Odessa activity; and Seagh scouted in feyspace to check.

The expulsion of a girl had subdued even the wilder elements and there had been a virtual cessation of japes; apart from those perpetrated in the holidays, on the joke-mad Elladora Guffy, as reported on by AHHa and BaHH to the first, second, Muggle Marauders and Prowling Marauders who had been invited to this impromptu entertainment in the junior common room to which the older elements were led, somewhat unnecessarily, blindfold by the melodramatic souls of the first.

"Of course we couldn't do any MAGIC" said AHHa with conscious virtue "But we didn't have to; there are oodles of muggle jokes and tricks out there you see. And the new ones from the Garjala range too" he added. "We put a clockwork earthquake under her bed; and dead fish in her bedsprings; and black face soap in her bathroom. Then we filled her slippers with jelly and her gumboots with slugs and plenty of icky semi rotted vegetation to keep them happily in there; and we used Marauding gas to keep her asleep at night and put a kinda dark mark on her arm with muggle transfers enchanted to blow raspberries, and we enchanted that while we were still at school so we didn't break any laws. Then we got muggle newspapers and wrote off in her name for every catalogue that was advertised to be sent to her and entered her in a dancing competition too. She was looking pretty frazzled as Mona would tell you only she turned down our invitation to be here. And then we set a swooping curser to tell the world 'Elladora Guffy is stupid' and put a clockwork unexpected tweeter under her floorboards and a self-exploding bed-spread on her bed. I bet she doesn't think practical jokes are such fun any more! And Mr Mordaunt paid for all the toys AND tipped us handsome too so we bought a whole feast to share and here it is" he said, pulling out a hamper of goodies. "He said to say thank you for all the ideas to everyone and if it didn't work at least HE had got a laugh out of it, the first one for years."

The tastes of first and second years in terms of goodies were not perhaps designed to appeal to the more sophisticated palates of the upper sixth, but the Prowling Marauders partook of some of the more innocuous sticky things in the spirit in which they were offered and a great party was had by all.

And the older ones went and filled up the corners with less highly coloured eats such as toast and jam or crumpets and fruit.

Mona had lightened up a little; living under the strain of having a practical joker next door had been perhaps enough to have soured her disposition.

As Jade said to her,

"I guess a sense of humour can be a bit subjective; but I say that it's not a real sense of humour unless everyone involved gets a laugh out of its direction. Discounting the ragging of Voldemort by cousin Draco of course as Convolvumort; we MEANT to bully him when we wrote the scripts."

"YOU helped write the scripts?" Mona stared.

"Well I helped a bit; I was only little remember! But I had the idea about Leaky the House Elf getting confused about what jobs she was supposed to do" said Jade "And Grace – my sister who played Leaky – built on it most beautifully. You did know, didn't you, that Professor Fraser was Tuurd the Troll?"

"No I didn't. I LIKE that sort of humour; it's somewhere between drollery and satire. It's practical jokes that make me fly."

Jade shrugged.

"Understandable. Trouble is, practical jokes are a normal expression of mischief in kids. It lets them let off steam and too to make gentle rebuke. In adults it's abnormal. At least save as perhaps the odd occasional thing; your dad enjoyed getting several back I hear! And Lucius has been known to cast the fluorescent fart jinx on those he considers unbearably pompous. And you'd never think someone as dignified as Madam Parnassus invented that in HER schooldays, would you?" she grinned. "And if you knew what my dad got up to when he was a grubby schoolboy your hair would curl! But the thing is they got over it. And appreciate its essential harmlessness in kids – so long as not taken to excess. Elladora Guffy is either an evil old bag who enjoys bullying your family and convinces herself as she has convinced the ministry that as it's only jokes' it's not bullying; or she's as gaga as a coot!"

"I think she just likes to have control and see us sweat" said Mona.

"Then she's a bully and should be investigated" said Jade. "Tell your dad to let you know if seriously spooking her back worked; and if it doesn't, get back to me and I'll sick cousin Draco on her. Having an auror crawling all over her life should put a crimp in her activities. And he'll put the fear of Azkaban into her for mental torture – which it is in a grown up – and that ought to work. Now! Have you learned that one can be essentially a decent person without having to be sanctimoniously virtuous? 'cos if so I'm holding a midnight feast for the sixth and fifth – on Friday so as not to have it before a schoolday – and you're invited and so's the rest of the class."

Mona was a little shocked; but Jade always got good grades regardless of her mischief and her own brand of virtue had, after all, turned out to be anything but virtuous; so she nodded.

It may be said that the senior feast, which as Jade said was for the Upper Sixth a farewell to their childhood feast before the exams set in, was somewhat more sophisticated in its composition than the junior feast and a sight less indigestible. For one thing it included savouries as well as sweets and tinned fruit; the which was eaten on forks and the juice pooled in toothmugs and drunk with as much gusto as the wines at more grown up parties yet. The local delicacies were well represented with goat's and sheep's milk cheeses as well as local pastries and fresh bread. And Jade declared with gusto that there was nothing like eating very new bread with goat's milk cheese spread on it and tinned pears on top.

Not all her fellows might have agreed; the more home county types had never come across the concept of eating cheese with either apple or with Christmas cake – Harmony Bloom, who hailed from Yorkshire explaining that Wensleydale NEEDED Christmas cake to eat it with – and not all of them at home to anything but the blandest of cheddar; but that was provided too.

It was a good party and finished with a sing-song until Sirri turned up with a message from the Head to please go to bed now as decent folk were trying to sleep.

With so mild a rebuke from the head Mona really was starting to learn that some mischief was harmless. For since Sirri had blinked and said 'what this much row from seniors?' the Head cannot have known that it was his daughter's party and been lenient on that account.

In learning to be a little childish at times, Mona was starting to grow up.

And then it was the exams.

Victor was half dreading the OWLs, half delighted at having the chance to do them; and fully delighted to have a card made by young Crow Langstaffe of an owl with academic robes and the tall black academic's hat with 'good luck Victor' on it. Victor would treasure it always!

He was taking ten OWLs, one more than he had originally intended; but he had taken up chanting seriously as Severus had suggested. Ulrich was taking eleven; but like his father he was something of an intellectual. It had been a revelation to Victor that muggles had intellectuals too; but he and Ulrich had exchanged life stories, holding nothing back and were as close as any friend could be that was not blood bonded.

There were just nine in the OWL year; only the third was so small a year. But this had once not been uncommon, Lily Smethley had explained to the two boys. And that many of them intended to go on for NEWTs too – and felt they had the chance to pass some – was also a change.

"When I was a little girl the ones who did NEWTs were a matter of awe" said Lily.

It was a very different thing from Hogwarts; when those who did NOT do NEWTs were a matter for slightly contemptuous pity. Unless it was because they had signed a contract with a Quidditch team – which happened occasionally – or were getting married, which was felt a waste but the way things sometimes were. Like Alice Trumball who had left to marry Hagrid; a strange choice in Victor's eyes but if it was her choice none of his business.

The small numbers had led to some small classes in electives; which was quite pleasant in a way and really helped to make learning easy! Though it was a little ridiculous for there to be only two of them, himself and Elsie Willis, the class swot, learning enchanting. It was quite cosy; and Professor Beckard had abandoned the classroom and taught them in his own study with tea and toast. Victor was alone in studying Geomancy; he had begun it at Hogwarts under Professor Black and Professor Fraser had agreed to take him as a weekend student.

It had involved a lot more practical work because Professor Fraser had taken him on a lot of what he called 'rambles' using node travel and ley lines; and then Victor, writing up what they had done as his homework assignment was always amazed at how much theory had been jammed into going for really quite convivial outings. Though he knew by heart the co-ordinates of one place they frequently visited; what was described by Professor Fraser as 'quite the best sausage shop in Austria'.

With poor weather Professor Fraser had often declared a lesson instead of the MSHG run if the weather had let up at all; and they had fetched up in the sausage shop for breakfast.

It beat big classes and formal question and answer sessions any day! He only hoped that he did well enough to repay the time the professors put in for him. He was good to get 'E' in most subjects if he stayed on average; but it would be nice to get an 'O' or two.

Potions was the first exam. The last two years had involved several short potions; a change from several years in a row of brewing the draught of peace. Victor knew he had a fairly good chance whatever was set; his grounding in potions had been with Krait - Professor Malfoy – and Professor Snape, and many people said there was little to pick between them , at least in junior potions. Actually he had started with Professor Longbottom because Madam Malfoy had been having a tough pregnancy. That had been what started his own mum doting on baby Walter he remembered; that she had been sick a lot – and he, a five year old , had not understood very well – and then the baby had been delicate. As small Severus Neville was said to have been.

He had played with Severus Neville and the others in both of the last holidays; and the little boy was certainly not singled out for special treatment; though once or twice Krait had quietly suggested getting the little ones together for a story and quieting down a romp as Sevnev – his family nickname – was looking a little pulled. How different were the Snapes from his family! They were all so happy; and when he asked about it, Severus had said 'how can we not be happy when we compare life to the terror and misery under Voldemort?' Somehow Victor suspected that even under Voldemort they had managed more happiness than anyone else might have done.

Victor was well pleased with the practical.

They were presented with three poisons and told to brew an antidote to each.

He wrote out Golapott's first law that an antidote or counteractive of any poison or potion should equal or exceed in effect the power of the ingredients of the original.

With the added incentive of Professor Snape threatening to poison fourth years he knew antidotes! He used the revellaspell on each of the potions and wrote what they were and what they contained before he did anything else; and was glad he had done so.

Two of the antidotes required similar ingredients, and the half-way stage of brewing each antidote was identical. He could save time and effort by going to the half way mark and decanting half of his brew into a second cauldron – the reason why the exam paper had said that they might use secondary cauldrons. This was when being too methodical did NOT pay off; and his heart went out to Ulrich, who he noticed checking the first poison and collecting ingredients for it before checking the others.

The ingredients were laid out in alphabetical order; not according to each potion.

And that was as much the test as anything else. Harder in some ways than the Draught of Peace; and yet in other ways, easier to gain marks if you knew sufficient. The Draught of Peace could be mugged up and brewed almost in your sleep and so long as you didn't blow it you got a good mark. And of course if you DID blow it you failed, regardless if you were usually good. Several shorter potions were a better test.

Victor brewed happily; and finished early. So did Elsie.

The invigilator gave them permission to leave as they had decanted their potions.

"Crumbs that was easy!" said Elsie "Two for one as you might say, partly anyhow!"

"Yes I rather liked it" said Victor. "Did you find Madam Hardbroom a good teacher?"

Elsie considered.

"Yes I did" she said "Strict of course….mind you, Professor Snape's even better. He's strict but he'll make jokes when it's appropriate that help you remember things; and he's supreme at brewing. And he makes it look easy, which is the mark of a master. It's one I want to do to NEWTs."

Victor nodded.

"Me too. Professor Snape is top Galleon in my book; and I've been taught by four different teachers."

"How come?"

"Well until they came here, Professor Malfoy taught warts and weevils; but she was ill for a term. Her replacement wasn't bad but we really picked up when she was back! And I had Professor Hardbroom for a year before – before I came here. I found her disappointing after professor Snape."

"I guess a boy also responds better to a master too" said Elsie. "She gave us a good grounding; keeping up to Professor Snape's standard wasn't half so hard as catching up to the other teachers! It HURT almost, trying to catch up; and some of them never really have you know."

"Oh, what Jade calls the chickens?" laughed Victor.

"And a jolly good name for the cackling fools!" agreed Elsie "Helga's all right – though she came from Hogwarts too of course – even though she's not very bright. But she's no idiot."

"Lily's not bad" said Victor. "Nice kid; doesn't chatter. Cackle, even."

Elsie grinned; a rare thing to happen to her solemn, hard working face.

She was one of the few people who was actually looking forward to the rest of her exams!

They were bombarded with cushions in the common room when the rest of the little victims were released to play by those who had assiduously brewed each potion in turn.

"Well don't blame us" said Victor. "My theory is grab all the marks you can; and if you have all the poisons written down then you have a few marks already for knowing what they are. Then scrawl a method for each antidote for a few more marks and then find there's a shortcut. Just because Elsie and me are lazy enough to do it right is NOT our fault."

Ulrich laughed ruefully.

"Too much I think to do it in order" he sighed. "But I completed; and not all did."

And Victor could guess easily enough that it had been Amy Tugwood and Louisa La Folle who had NOT completed; since Louisa was too much the social butterfly between interfering in the business of others and Amy too stuck up to ever take advice even from her twin and had consequently missed more than she needed to in class for being more concerned with her image.

The theory paper was, Victor thought, as much of a breeze as the practical.

There were questions on Golapott's first two laws and on such potions as were covered by Golapott's second law on potions whose efficacy increased over time. Fortunately they only had to know about this in theory and not work out the exponential of the increase for an antidote.

The long question was to pick a medical potion and write out its method of brewing and include, if relevant, notes on why the candidate had chosen this particular one.

Victor picked the snow blindness cure as being relevant to their physical location. He had helped Severus brew another batch over the Yule holidays and felt at home with it.

There were short questions on memory and forgetfulness potions and their uses; and that too seemed quite easy.

Victor enjoyed the paper more than he was expecting. Really it was quite easy!

It was perhaps more due to the application to his work that Victor had shown then the kindness of the examinations board how easy he found it however!

Transfigurations carried neither joys not tribulations for Victor; he was moderately competent and was an 'E' grade student generally.

The written exam had questions on switching spells and conjuration and a long question on the theory of name similarities aiding in transfiguration. Victor quoted Adalbert Waffling on assimilative correlation by nomenclature and also by association; such that the guinea fowl to guinea pig transformation was assimilative correlation by nomenclature whereas an owl to opera glasses was assimilative correlation by association.

He was not displeased with how he had done.

The practical was always easier.

He summoned a silk handkerchief and banished dirt from a bucket, switched a ball in a box for the one on the examiner's hand and turned his tortoise into a pleasing box much like those he had seen on sale in the various shops in Austrian towns, beautifully carved with a fairy tale scene. The box had no desire to chomp on offered lettuce, and Victor opened it with a flourish to play a simple tune. He had added that instead of the – to him – more complex addition of inlay work. It lifted the box a little in complexity and should keep him on track for an 'E'.

Ulrich and Elsie were likely to get 'O' for their work; their handkerchiefs they summoned were in Ulrich's case monogrammed and in Elsie's edged with lace; Ulrich's box was beautifully inlaid and edged with chased brass and had a keyhole; and Elsie's was a sewing box that opened up into several compartments with external hinges and was lined with red velvet. The outside was plain but the complexity of the construction would undoubtedly win her extra marks!

Under firm instruction from Madam Malfoy they all changed their boxes back into tortoises and fed the slightly offended animals the lettuce leaves.

Rumour went round that Louisa La Folle's box bit the examiner and wandered off.

"Never mind Lou" said Victor when he had ascertained the truth in the rumour "Couldn't think of a better examiner to get bitten."

Louisa had hysterics.

As this was not an uncommon occurrence, she was generally ignored.

Louisa had recently started reading the 'Enchanted Encounters' series of books by her great aunt Fifi La Folle and had started acting like one of the rather silly heroines.

Charms was another solid but not brilliant class for Victor; the high flyers here were Elsie – as might be expected – and, surprisingly, the Tugwood twins who actually bothered to work at the theory when Madam Parnassus had remarked, rather snippily, that it was a shame they meant to throw away the very good chance of an 'O' grade for the lack of a little occasional application.

The first half of the paper concentrated on incantations and wand movements of half a dozen spells; the levitation charm, the bluebell flames charm, the summoning charm, the door unlocking charm, the shield charm and the enlargement charm. Victor wrote the incantations out first before returning to describe wand movements. The shield charm had to be a trick question; so he wrote

"Though the shield charm's incantation is _protego_ it is generally cast non verbally and it requires no wand movement as this would take up time in getting a shield up. It is in all scrupulous families the first spell learned as a defence by every child before a wand is ever carried."

In this Victor was totally incorrect since very few adults were able to cast the shield charm; the reason for the success of the Weasley twins' spectacularly successful shield hats and cloaks. He had himself learned it quickly since he started Hogwarts despite not being in the MSHG – Jade had taught all the weevils she had met on the train how to do it, for she was the same age as Victor though she was doing NEWTs this year – and seeing all the snapelings old enough to do magic using it had assumed that he had been merely let down by his family. Which caused some headaches for the examiner later marking this, wondering whether to mark him down for not citing the wand movements, or up for being obviously able to cast the spell wandlessly and assuming everyone else could.

As Helga Von Strang was also happily writing that this was a trick question since the shield spell was cast inside the head without wand or incantation and as a startling number of candidates from Hogwarts were writing much the same thing the examiners decided to give equal marks to these answers as for a full description.

The second half of the exam was an essay on cheering charms and Victor struggled but felt he had acquitted himself well enough.

The practical followed a standard format; it demonstrated the practical ability. Victor stopped all the plates dancing, turned a rat yellow, reduced a dinner plate to teaplate size, had an eggcup doing cartwheels and levitated a glass of water. Elsie he saw out of the corner of his eye was stacking her plates and subsequently demonstrated control in pouring water from her levitated glass. It was the sort of extra control that gave the 'O' grade; and Victor did not grudge it. Especially as Elsie had needed to get over what had been truly dire teaching in her first few years here!

Care of Magical Beasts was next and Victor felt that a year with Professor Fraser had given him a sight more than he had ever learned from Hagrid who had frankly terrified him.

That Hagrid was somewhat prejudiced against anyone with the same name as a deatheater had NOT helped; for when Victor thought Hagrid was staring suspiciously at him, he was probably correct.

Professor Fraser had taught a great deal more theory – there was a paucity of magical beasts available – and had taken field trips to see such animals as they may and had borrowed various flying horses from his friends, ranging from Hagrid himself to Lucius Malfoy, to show them the characteristics. There was a movement afoot to have the exam split into care of wild beasts and care of domestic beasts; since the cleaning of a firecrab was irrelevant to anyone who wanted to work with flying horses for example.

The written exam covered recognition of the various kinds of dragon and Victor resisted the temptation to write something along the lines that if was big, winged and scaly there was not a lot to pick between them and the best solution was to dig a hole and pull it in after you. He could describe the various types well enough and did so. The rest of the exam consisted of writing a sentence about each of a number of animals like the erumpant, the Graphorn and the crup among others.

The graphorn was particularly easy in light of the triwizard competition; and Victor amused himself and, he hoped, the examiner by suggesting that crups should be reclassified with five X's for the damage they wrought to new robes when raping the legs. He disliked small dogs passionately and added that the only use of crups was to be fattened up and fed to thestrals.

The practical involved feeding a Hippogriff.

This was easy; Professor Fraser was particularly fond of both Hippogriffs and Griffons; in fact one of the few beasts they had seen close up was Professor Fraser's pet griffon Godrica who had flown out to Austria to be with him. The OWL class had been permitted to aid in the dissilusionment of her.

Victor bowed to the examiner's pretty female hippogriff, maintaining eye contact. She inclined her head back; and he offered up the dead rats that were the food to be offered.

It was an enjoyable part of the exam and she permitted Victor to pet her a little before he retired for the next candidate.

Most of the rest managed to feed her with more or less success save Louisa who fled in abject terror and was the only one deliberately bitten by the creature. Leticia Villeneuve was accidentally bitten for holding the food and half snatching it away when the big beak came close; which was her own fault as Professor Fraser told her heartlessly as he healed it.

Defence against the Dark Arts was simplicity itself.

There were four short essay questions in the written exam, describing werewolves, Kappa, Dementors and Redcaps. Writing a page on each of those was easy enough. Victor had always been fascinated by the concept of the kappa's supposed love of cucumbers and why this should equal their desire for man flesh; and waxed lyrical upon the subject. As for Dementors, he had been up close and personal with around about a hundred of them during the Odessa attack when the Triwizard champions were being chosen; and was able to describe them very well and to add that nothing takes away their menacing mystique as seeing several lupine patronuses snapping at their - well, where their heels ought to be if they had them. Redcaps were not unknown on the moors near Hogwarts; and as for werewolves…. Well he would laugh over THAT question with Ulrich after the exam was over! The short questions too were easy, listing counters to various curses and defences against various dark creatures.

"What did you think of question one then?" he grinned at Ulrich as they went out.

"Loved it!" said Ulrich. "Such a furry little question!"

Severus, overhearing the conversation, recalled a similar conversation after his own DADA exam between James and Remus.

It was good to see these two boys as closely bonded.

The practical was another standard form exam; chasing a boggart back into a box and countering jinxes. Victor's boggart was his little brother, grown monstrous with sword and wand. Severus had helped him with that; and he made the boy reduce to normal size and assume the velvet 'poetical' suit that Chrysogon Rufus was wont to wear for his mother's book signings. The sweet ickle darling look was to Victor's mind ridiculous enough without needing even to be exaggerated; and he pulled it up with the cry of "_RIDIKULUS!"_ to drive the creature back into its box.

The examiner looked faintly offended. Presumably she thought Chrysogon Rufus was sweet.

He countered jinxes readily enough; and when asked if he could produce a corporeal patronus nodded briefly.

Victor had been very impressed by the wolves of Prince Peak; and his patronus was now a wolf like his friend's. Victor was in fact working on being a wolf animagus to join Ulrich running; yet another of the Prince Peak pack, as Professor Fraser, himself a dog animagus, had laughingly said.

There were more corporeal Patronuses this year; four of them, from Victor, Ulrich, Helga and Elsie. That three of them were wolves raised the examiner's eyebrows; for Helga, unimaginative, had copied her older brother's idea. Elsie's was a wind-whipped brockenbow like figure of a man, as was that of several of the older girls too, for Severus chanting on the tower the day he first arrived was for so many of them an enduring picture of protection.

None of the others had patronuses; and indeed Amy Tugwood had run sobbing from the boggart and had refused to come back in the room to stand against jinxes since her sister had needed medical attention after the exam to reduce her teeth to a reasonable size and heal the burns.

And the last compulsory exam here at Prince Peak was Herbology.

Victor heard Ulrich growling at his fanged geranium – Professor Fraser had laughingly mentioned it had been how he had subdued his – and glared at his own. It tried to bite and he flicked it hard.

There was no more of that nonsense as he repotted it.

Collecting bubotuber pus and pruning shrivelfig were standard enough and Victor managed it.

Judging by Ulrich's boils he had had trouble with his bubotubers.

The written was about as interesting as Herbology ever was; Madam Devlin did her best but it was difficult to raise a great deal of enthusiasm. Victor had worked hard however and felt he turned in a fair paper, writing about the various self motile plants that they might be expected to come across. Victor listed Devil's snare, Bouncing bulbs, schreechsnaps, huorns and self-motile trees like the whomping willow. He added as an afterthought snargaluff which he knew about vaguely having heard a few choice swear words used by NEWT students over the 'filthy brute' as Callum Prince had dubbed it.

General questions on care of plants were not difficult; and if he did not answer them fully enough for an 'O' grade, he did not care that much; bruising his fanged geranium had put paid to that anyway.

And then it would be his electives!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Only five people were taking the chanting OWL this year, though several were taking the NEWT; and Lucius Malfoy had all the OWL students chanting together.

The chant was a slightly different one from the previous year being one to remove a curse from an ordinary looking bludger that had been, Mr Malfoy explained, enchanted to cast the Killing Curse on anyone it touched after having been activated by reaching a certain speed.

Severus had talked over the items from the Burke shop with Lucius and Lucius decided that this was a question of waste not, want not. He would use another of the items for the Hogwarts chanters. He had devised a suitable chant – with Draco's input – and as before the candidates had ten minutes to study it and loosen their voices.

He made a bit of a face as they started; Victor and Elsie were competent, the others….well, they were adequate.

It might need the combined efforts of this lot AND the Hogwarts crew to deal with it. Though the most accomplished chanters there had been awarded the OWL a year early…. Perhaps they would like to try for a higher grade, thought Lucius hopefully.

Would they, hell, he thought. They'd just take it to NEWT for the higher grade there. After all, any one of them could have dealt with the thing in their fourth year.

Perhaps Victor and Elsie were good enough on their own with the rather quavering efforts of the others sufficient backup. The thing about chanting, like the Cruciatus Curse, was that you had to really mean it.

At least Ulrich was a strong chanter if not especially efficient.

The written exam covered defining the difference between a chant and other forms of charm or enchantment and the designing of simple chants to cover a number of situations, requiring reference to metrical significance, cadence and rhythm as well as choice of appropriate language. This was Victor's weak point, having never studied any other languages nor, until the intensive class with Professor Snape, anything about poetry which he had before designated as 'sissy and Ravenclawish'.

None of the others were any better than him though, he realised; and probably only Elsie as good for his determination had brought him well on, though Ulrich had studied Ancient Runes that might make up for his deficiencies in holding the rhythm in the practical.

There were only four of them in the Arithmancy class too; a nervous sort of number with someone as eagle-eyed as Madam Granger.

It was a long paper since there was no practical and involved heavy calculations concerning the optimal time to break a selection of curses when the time they were cast was known, and orientation if appropriate. The usual shorter questions on numerologically suitable partners and appropriate wedding dates were also in there; no surprises just a lot of hard work.

Enchanting – Victor and Elsie – involved a written paper with a long question on broom control spells and the enchantments required in making cursing brooms difficult. There were short questions on such things as wand woods and the types of quills which took the best to being enchanted and on defining enchanting as compared to charms or ritual chanting. It was tough but Victor was not displeased.

The practical required the candidates to enchant three useful items – a dedicated fire-lighting wand, a self-inking pen and self-warming slippers activated when worn.

It was not too difficult and Victor was relieved.

Only Geomancy to go.

The written paper involved plotting on a map the principle ley lines of Britain and a short question on the theory of nodal transfer such as was used by the Knight bus as well as questions on the use of ley lines. The practical, a standard form one, had the applicant taken somewhere blindfold by apportation to make his way back.

Victor did that quickly enough; it was something he had practised many times, and the examiner had beamed and said that for the one student taking the exam here, it had at least been well worth his time turning out.

From which comment, Victor hoped he had done well enough to have made it worth Professor Fraser's time being given up for him.

The NEWT students were also as ready as they would ever be; which was more in the case of some than others and Jade had mugs of water thrown at her for singing in the bathroom on the morning of the charms exam. This was the second largest NEWT class- the largest being Potions which all eleven were taking - and all but Rosamund of the original Cackle's girls were taking it as well as Jade, Lynx and Jem. It may be noted that Lynx did not take part in the water throwing being sufficiently confident herself.

Those who had mugged up on barrier charms, which had appeared rather often in the last few exams were doomed to disappointment since the greater part of the exam was an essay on moving charms. Jade wrote about locomotor charms, levitating charms and the flexibility of the _mobilo_- charm that could be allied in Latin to anything appropriate such as the standard _mobilocorpus_ to move an unconscious or injured body or _mobiloarbus_ for the transportation and transplanting of a tree with minimal harm to it; the charm being limited only by the caster's Latin vocabulary. She added that apportation could be considered a moving charm though the moving in this case was an arithmantic moving and folding of the space-time continuum as well as a small sideways shift of the human body to pass through the ensuing fold. Being Jade she added arithmantic notes and also wrote that with ordinary moving charms the weight to be lifted was dependant on the will of the witch or wizard doing the moving far more even than on their magical power. The short section covered memory charms and a few questions on barrier charms to the relief of those who had concentrated on the subject!

The practical was different this year to the confundment of many previous exams; it involved digging charms to uproot a tree, which then had to be moved and transplanted.

The same tree had to suffer movement backwards and forwards by each student since the nymph Fagia decided to interfere and would only permit one tree to suffer disruption.

The candidates also had to observe a brief memory in a Pensieve and implant it back into the person from whom it was taken without use of the Pensieve; and then confund them into forgetting that the memory had been removed in the first place. This was done on volunteer muggle relatives of students who had been given a written guarantee that all knowledge of what had occurred would be restored to them and their memories retained unimpaired. If the candidates were clumsy, the Pensieve memory could be restored intact. Marks were given on a comparison Pensieve memory donated by the volunteer to compare the complexity of what the candidate implanted. Jade's muggle – the parent of a muggle born – declared that Jade's replacement memory was sharper and more detailed than his original as he had not consciously noticed the background noises before.

On the whole the class felt they had done quite well; though Pamela was much less happy. Her muggle had found the replaced memory very disturbing and unreal feeling.

"One down, seven to go!" said Jade cheerfully; and was thoroughly poked by those people taking four or less.

The Transfigurations exam held no big surprises; one of the central themes at NEWT level was conjuration and of course, Gamp's exceptions. As with charms those who were taking it were all fairly well drilled with this, only Esmerelda sighing deeply. Madam Malfoy had covered conjuration very thoroughly and Sylvia for one came out grinning.

"Jade has almost certainly written far more than is necessary" said Lynx, cheerfully.

"Probably" agreed Jade "I wrote about the fact that conjuration requires the acceptance of matter and energy being essentially identical and the arithmantic transfiguration of the energy of the universe into matter being the paradigm of conjuration."

Everyone groaned.

"Told you" said Lynx.

Jade had actually written an answer so far above NEWT level that the examiner struggled to follow all of it and subsequently wrote to the girl returning the essay suggesting that she rewrite it in essay format rather than as an exam essay and submit it to 'Transfiguration today' with appropriate references.

It is to be said that Jade was rather chuffed and proceeded to do so, with enough additions that the examiner, re-reading it some months later was heard to mutter exasperatedly that this damn girl ought to be doing her job for her.

The practical involved various summoning spells and of course the transfiguration of a violin into a cat.

Jade, feeling ornery, and having a veneer of burr walnut on her violin, produced a leopard which she proceeded to confund into tameness and absently scratched a purring chin.

The examiner asked, a little hollowly, if Jade had an animagus form she would care to show; and Jade smiled brightly and remembered that her official form was that of snake.

Puss was no overly keen on this and drew back, hissing herself so Jade hurriedly pulled back into her human form and devoted time to pacifying the leopard.

The leopard moved into the school and was named by Jade 'Stripey'.

Potions saw all eleven of them in the dungeon for the exam; it being one of the few that some of them felt they had any chance of passing. Those like Pamela and Rosamund who were taking only two NEWTs – which was two more than they had expected before the advent of Professor Snape – pinned their hopes in a pass on the good grounding Madam Hardbroom had given them and the excellent work built on to that by Professor Snape.

The practical was to brew Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world; and an appropriate counter to it.

Jade grinned savagely to herself. Her father was strongly opposed to the casual use of love potions so many young girls seemed to think appropriate and had waxed lyrical on the subject of responsibility as a potioneer. It was a beauty of an exam; and she would brew Liberamore Major as the counter. She concentrated on producing the beautiful pearly-sheened potion with its spirals that rose beautifully and sniffed it happily, smelling Wulf's musky scent and polished wood like the haft of a broom, old leather-bound books and the scents of a meadow that only one who has had the nose of a wolf would know. The smell was different for everyone of course; it was what you found most pleasure in.

Sylvia's and Pamela's were rather more oily than pearly and the spirals of steam decidedly sluggish.

Jade later noticed that Lynx, Senagra and several of the others were brewing the eye-opener potion as she settled down to stirring her antidote. Sylvia had settled for the easier hatred potion and Pamela was almost sobbing over her eye-opener potion; but at least she was persevering.

Jade's experienced eye that had seen many a NEWT student saw that they were within a pass mark at least so long as they did not do too badly on the written. And nobody had any excuse to do that!

Jade enjoyed the written exam; and even Sylvia did not hate it too much. She knew now who Golapott was and had no difficulty citing his third law, though her answer was much sparser than Jade's in terms of giving examples.

There were a few questions which described the look of a potion; and asked what happened next when a given ingredient was added or an action was taken. Jade wrote happily of a dark purple potion with blue steam arising that as one stirred the Draught of Living Death should lighten; and that the potion that started off dark yellow should, with the addition of its last ingredient become sunshine yellow, the characteristic of the Elixir to induce Euphoria and also made a note that peppermint added at this point reduced any distressing side effects and that increasing the alihotsy instead was a great way of embarrassing unwanted guests into leaving when they had recovered from the potion.

In all, they all thought they had passed; which in Pamela and Sylvia's case was a bit touch and go.

"I never thought I'd be saved by old Golapott!" cried Pamela "I wrote simply SCREEDS on him; and I bet if anything has saved my bacon that has, my practical was a mess!"

"I've seen enough students come and go in my time and both you and Sylvia had potions on the right side of a scraped pass" said Jade "If you both remembered Golapott and recognised the potions enough to name them even if you weren't sure what happened next you'll be fine."

"What was the third one?" asked Pamela.

"Wolfbane" said Jade "Fortunately obsolete now dad has a total cure but not everyone's heard of that yet…with the addition of the moonstone the potion should clear from a muddy brown to a soft translucent colourless potion."

"YES!" said Esmerelda "I WAS right! It was a sheer guess, but I had a vague recollection of Professor Snape saying something about it going from looking and smelling like dogbreath to being as innocuous seeming as water."

"He does have his moments" grinned Jade.

Defence against the Dark Arts was next

The written exam asked for the unforgivable curses to be listed and a brief paragraph written on them; and there were questions on cursed wounds and their nature as well as counters to various curses and the powers of Dark Creatures.

The practical was the usual duel with the examiner; as the only candidates here were transplants from Hogwarts and long established members of the MSHG not a word was spoken in the countering of curses before they were even spoken and the Prowling Marauders forgot to use their wands in excitement. Lynx duplicated her efforts on Achille Crouch-Villeneuve to disable her examiner, turning him into an inflated ball at the mercy of his own eructations; which for dignity's sake she left uncoloured and nor did she cover him with tentacles. It still required Severus to chant him out of it.

Jade turned her examiner into a fluffy white rabbit, danced round him chanting and explained that depending on what sort of real enemy she was facing depended on whether he became pie, a slipper, or got put in a hutch. And indeed with a real enemy, she added, she would take the human intellect too but to have done so to an examiner would have been impolite and it wasn't any good him trying to turn back because she had used his true name and unless someone could pronounce the Finnish to get him out of it there he was stuck. She let him try; and then on the request of the invigilator restored him with a second chant and beamed at him cheerily.

Senagra, struck by Sandalla's ancestors' story turned the unfortunate man into a wooden weatherman; from which he had to be rescued with mandragora potion.

Fabian, Jem and Erwin were a little more conventional, using the full body bind, the disarming jinx, _levicorpus_ and a tickling charm as distraction with langlock, since most disabled, inverted, silenced and wandless wizards who were wriggling were unable to do an awful lot.

The examiner retired flustered but impressed.

Only Jade and Fabian and Erwin were doing Ancient Runes.

This was a written exam that might be considered to have a practical embedded in it, in terms of the translations.

There was a diatribe in Ancient Greek by Herpo the Foul about the Basilisk he had created – being the first recorded basilisk created ever – including the only piece of written Parseltongue known in general using Herpo's own notation – which he had translated for the benefit of those who followed him in the original – the translation of which was left to the students who had studied it. To Parselmouths like Jade and Fabian it was simplicity itself; and they had taken to using Herpo's notation to write things they wished to keep secret, teaching the script as a marauding secret.

This was an easy question; following it was the translation into Ogham script a passage in Gaelic.

This was not a simple matter of drawing the lines that made up the Ogham alphabet but doing it around a drawn stone in such a way as to have the sort of balance a Gaelic Wizard would consider suitable.

Jade enjoyed it well enough even if Fabian had to sweat a little to get it just so. Erwin was NOT happy!

The third section was split into several short questions of translations out of and into various languages. The examiner apparently had a sense of humour since they were required to produce a cartouche in heiroglyphs saying 'I am Convolvumort, the greatest wizard on earth'.

They left the exam room chuckling and doing Convolvumort impressions.

"Mad, you know" said Pamela "It's the strain on their poor little brains."

Fabian and Jade glanced at each other, grinned, used the full body bind and subjected Pamela to all their favourite Convolvumort moments until she cried pax.

Three of them were doing Arithmancy; Jade, Senagra and Erwin. Erwin was not expecting a great mark but like Ancient Runes he felt that Arithmancy was such a base of everything else it should be studied. This was his final exam; he was taking only four and this was his weakest.

The exam was four hours of intense concentration.

Solving the simultaneous equation of two ley lines to produce the node where they crossed was tough enough; working out where it lay was harder.

Jade drew a diagram and wrote in known points and declared with reasonable certainty that the node lay on Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire centred on the belly button of the naked lady in the mosaic in the cellar. The second part of this answer was sheer fantasy – there was a mosaic of a naked lady in the cellar but whether her belly button was nodal or not Jade neither knew nor cared, but it wouldn't be likely to lose her marks and she needed something to cheer her up after so excruciating a first question.

There were then a series of short questions on calculating ideal conditions to break complex curses, and the ideal number of people to include in a ritual and the best orientation of various chanters to bind or exorcise a ghost given different numbers of chanters. Jade added that binding ghosts was immoral and the chanters would be kinder to use a better chant to open the veil and send the unfortunate spirit through, adding arithmantic notes on opening the veil. Again this was an answer well beyond NEWT level.

The final question was one of those with a long equation full of complex terms and the word 'explain'.

It had a term that involved engulfing; which was preceded by one that was based on Waffling logic, what muggles called Boolean algebra. That had to be a vault in Gringott's bank; which opened normally if a goblin worker ran his finger round it but if anyone else touched it sucked him in to be retrieved and punished later. It was a clever piece of Arithmancy; Jade was impressed. She copied the equation onto a piece of scrap. One never knew when THAT might come in handy!

Senagra was almost giggling; her father had worked in the bank for a while after all!

Erwin wrestled for a while, threw down his pen and gave up.

It was beyond the level of Arithmancy he was ever likely to use anyway.

Chanting was next, with Lucius presiding over this first NEWT in the subject. Rosamund and Hillary were taking this with Jade and were confident enough having undertaken practical chanting against Odessa under Tony Queach.

The written exam was longer and more complex than the OWL; as was only to be expected. There were three long chants to produce on specific rituals; one to draw poison from the blood and bring it forth in the urine to expel; another to prevent further damage to a cursed wound that was progressive in nature; and the third to induce a magical and dreamless sleep. This third was simplicity itself to Jade, having done this very thing for Dimsie Burke before she even took OWLs. The short questions were on the nature of chants to be used under differing circumstances with brief explanations; and the answers to some of the questions were actually fairly subjective. Lucius planned to mark on how well argued the suggestions were so long as they were feasible.

The practical was no longer than the OWL – having too long a chant was difficult to test and Lucius had decided to test levels of complexity rather then stamina. It was a rare chant that needed more than an hour in any case.

He broke the practical into two tests; for one he had chanted in a curse onto a number of brooms to cast the hurling hex the moment the broom was at a particular height and had produced a simple chant to begin a basic curse breaking. The candidate was required to study both broom and simple chant for ten minutes then come up with a counterpoint on the fly to enhance the activity of the chanter of the basic chant. Jade used the Revellaspell, glanced at the simple chant and indicated she was ready.

Her counterpoint was wildly complex, sung, and Lucius felt his own curse sucked out of the broom in mere minutes.

The other two girls took about half an hour each after scribbling on the paper provided for their full preparation time; but they succeeded.

The second task was to set up a circle of protection against spiders – Lucius had brought some of Aragog's descendants for the test – in any way that seemed good to the candidate. Again there was preparation time.

Jade actually scrawled a few notes here – arithmantic ones, Lucius noted – and proceeded to dance around her circle singing in waltz time

_"Attercop, attercop, you shall not come_

_your legs are all tangled with goo from your bum_

_attercop, attercop, eight into three_

_just can't be done and so you can't get me._"

It was a change from the more conventional wall against specific race type chant; and Lucius looked forward to seeing how well it worked.

Duly when Jade went and sat in the middle after eight passes around the circle he let in the spiders. They reached the circle, and started wildly and uncoordinatedly to waltz. They did not do it very well; and as soon as they tried to cross the line they became entangled in themselves.

They retired sulking. Lucius Malfoy had not warned them THAT might happen.

Rosamund managed a conventional exclusion zone curse line; Hillary set up the blasting curse on anything with more than four legs.

Lucius had to apologise to his spiders and promise them plenty of nice juicy mice.

Tony Queach was also taking this exam as an extra, as Lionel was at Hogwarts; and he too used relatively conventional solutions couched in unconventional ways since he too sang rather than chanted; his exclusion line did more than exclude as it apparated the spiders in a random direction at least forty feet away. He had used his flute to uncurse the broom too; and Lucius thought he would likely do very well teaching Chanting at Hogwarts.

Now he had to see what the enterprising Lionel Dell might come up with!

Rosamund was fairly delighted with how she had done; she thought she had done well at Potions too and preferred to have two NEWTs at respectable grades than risk poor or even fail grades by taking more. She intended to use chanting to improve her potioneering; and hoped to work for a while in an apothecary's shop before dedicating her life to brewing healing potions in St Mungo's or some other hospital.

Severus suggested taking a year with his cousin Peter and after her training in St Mungo's coming back as school nurse as they had not formally got one since he and Krait did most of what was necessary. As the staff had skilled medical transfigurationists, Rosamund's poor 'A' grade OWL mattered less. Technically it required an 'E' grade at OWL to go in for pure healing but Rosamund hoped to be a medical apothecary; and as Severus said, having someone to brew pepperup potion and prophylactics against fairy flu would be no end of a help. Rosamund was thinking about it most seriously.

Jade's last exam was Enchanting, which she shared with Lynx, Senagra, Sylvia and Esmeralda.

Sylvia was the poorest in the class; but she knew she had two NEWTs almost bound to be in the bag, for her charms and transfigurations were good; and she preferred to back them with a couple of low grade NEWTs that were nonetheless extra NEWTs. Unlike Rosamund and Pamela who struggled for their two, Sylvia was happy with two and decided to struggle for extra numbers rather than grades in those two.

The enchanting paper had a long question on the enchantments of communications devices and Jade wrote cheerfully of communications globes, joined mirrors, wizarding wireless, Weasley's viewosneaks and Wizarding Wireless Vision; in the last of which she proved herself to be rather more knowledgeable than the examiner who was torn between fascination and exasperation. Jade added notes about attuning such things, either between specific people, specific places – such as the globe between bottom and top of the cable-car – or by tuning into the carrier waves on ley lines with the Wireless functions by arithmantic wand tattoo on the top. She enjoyed herself.

There were short questions as well in the second section covering gates, wards, wands and brooms.

The practical was standard form; and Jade had no difficulty coring a wand nor making a shopping trolley fly with panache that came as close as so unwieldy a thing might do to elegance. Lynx and Esmerelda were very happy too; and Sylvia was not too pessimistic.

It was over for Jade; but she decided to hang around the greenhouse and watch Fabian, Senagra and Jem at Herbology.

This was generally the repotting of Mandragora; but this year the examiners had decided on a change.

The candidates had to collect and juice as many Snargaluff pods as they could in the time allowed before moving on to the next practical task.

Fabian for one would have preferred mandrakes.

The dry looking stumps burst forth in vicious brambly vines as the candidates approached, each to their own plant. They were wearing protective clothing of course, dragonhide gloves, goggles and gum shields. Madam Devlin loathed snargaluffs with a passion and as she told them so frequently, Fabian was convinced that this made the wretched plants even more vicious. It was a question of enduring, grabbing two vines to knot together and as the hole opened between them, heaving out the pod that formed there, horrid green pulsating things the size of a grapefruit. Juicing then needed quick work with a sharp knife to pierce the resistant skin and squeeze out the wriggling, worm-like tubers.

Fabian and Senagra each managed four, and Jem three; and considered themselves very successful to come away with only minor cuts and bruises and, in Senagra's case, a nose bleed.

Repotting Devil's snare plants was child's play by comparison; they sent the plant into an unhappy stupor with extreme warming charms then dropped them into new cold wet earth and stepped away sharply.

The written examination – which Senagra bled onto slightly – covered flesh eating plants. There were a few ironic mutters. The rest involved soil type and how this was important to different kinds of plants.

None of them had any issues with the theory.

Jade asked the Herbology examiner,

"Excuse me, the practical is always first because of the high fail rate owing to the effects of Mandragora; the Snargaluff is nasty to deal with – I've done it for potion ingredients so I do know – but is it comparable?"

The examiner, a weatherbeaten old woman who could have been Madam Sprout's great grandmother, Jade thought, did a bit of a double take.

"Oh you are lower sixth then dear?" she asked.

"No ma'am; I didn't think I could fit in time for a ninth NEWT so I eschewed herbology" said Jade "But I've kind of studied informally for potioneering and Dad got me to help him harvest some of the beastly things. It wasn't hard just tedious keep ducking."

"Oh, er indeed" said the examiner. "Well, my dear, I should tell you perhaps that not everyone finds it that easy. Indeed the fail rate is almost as high as with Mandrake; when students retire hurt without having collected any pods at all and are perhaps quite nastily injured. It's not for the timid!"

"Oh" said Jade "I didn't realise that they were that intimidating. I mean, personally I'd rather deal with Mandrake; if you know what you're doing there's no risk at all. Since Myrtle experimented with casting the tickling charm on them, we all use that."

"Ah, yes, Miss Carmichael; I remember that" said the examiner. "Ingenious; and I gather it makes a better potion too."

"Well Dad reckons so" said Jade.

"Did you wish to take the exam as you have experience?" asked the examiner.

Jade considered hard.

She had never had any trouble, but there was her baby to consider; if one of those vines caught her in the belly there might be problems. Besides, she had never studied the raising of plants in great detail.

"I think my theory of growing things would let me down" she said. "I can harvest and use things and I know how much dragon poo to put on screechsnaps and that's my limit. To me ericaceous soil sounds like it has a disease. But thank you very much; I appreciate being offered the chance."

She might have scraped a pass; but the risk to the baby was too great. Besides it would give her one new subject to study next year at Durmstrang anyhow.

And with Durmstrang in mind, Jade wrote to Madam Bacsó in the handwriting she had devised for her new persona; claiming to be known as Nephrita Malfoy, daughter of Augustina by Freiherr Von Strang and pure blooded for eleven generations or more, explaining that although her mother was illegitimate, the result of a youthful fling by Lucius Malfoy when he was still at school, his inamorata Phryne had been of pure blood stock who had become a courtesan as a protest against the conventions of society, being a scion of the Black family. With a marriage being arranged to a more dutiful daughter of the Black family it had been impolitic for her mother to use the family name; and she had wandered rather aimlessly and had had an affair with that same Baron Von Strang that had been murdered by Voldemort and his minions. 'Nephrita' wrote that although Lucius Malfoy had been induced to recognise her and let her use his name, if not to call him grandfather, he had packed her off to Cackle's academy – her mother being dead – and now she had to put up with goblins in the school and the situation was so intolerable she wondered if she might transfer for her last year to Durmstrang since she had money of her own and would also be lodging a claim on the Von Strang estate. She sent a vial of blood having chanted to emphasise the Von Strang blood link in her own blood and suppress anything the Durmstrangers would consider untoward.

Jade knew that they could check that she held Malfoy and Von Strang; and that the blood belonged to the writer of the letter.

She could anyway; and presumably they had some competent ritual wizards.

Now all there was to do was sit back and wait; she had evolved a form to transfigure into already and was comfortable with it. It was a straight haired version of Lydia, very pale blonde with violet eyes to set her apart from the other flaxen girls and with the Malfoy magnolia skin. Malfoys did, after all, tend to breed true. And there was no scar on the forehead; for Jade had learned how to change form without taking scars with her.

All was in preparation; and the rest out of her hands.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The school leopard soon settled in and became quite a pet of the second, largely because Flo had claimed that as Jade's fag she had the right to help care for her. Flo disapproved of calling her Stripey and said so; and Jade laughed and asked what could be more appropriate than that for a creature with spots.

Flo, baffled gave up.

The Muggle Marauders, who watched 'Star trek – the New Generation' understood perfectly.

Since Jade had made Stripey to have a fairly domestic cat sort of mind in her big spotty body she was a most affectionate school pet and the juniors became used to sharing their –fortunately large – beds with a rather outsized purr.

Mostly she, like the children, lolled around in the shade and Jade declared that having the exams early in the extreme heat of a Tyrolean summer was actually no bad thing.

Once all the exams were over – Divining and Comparative magic being the last two NEWTs that anyone was taking they would go back to Durmstrang for the final task.

It was Lynx and Fabian taking Comparative magic by correspondence course and with aid from Ellie; and they may not have felt they got top marks but they were glad to have done it anyway.

Only Hillary was taking Divination; and Jade said lazily, through the rim of her wide straw hat, newly instituted as summer uniform after Severus had seen how fetching and shady Rosamund's was,

"Well Hilly's divining and I'm declining."

"What, like the Roman Empire?" said Lynx.

"Something like that" said Jade. "But I also decline in another way; I decline to answer."

Lynx threw beech leaves at her; and Jade absently summoned a breeze to puff them back. It was idyllic; silent but for the birdsong and…..

And occasional sounds of shunting from the Railway enthusiasts' dungeon.

And little Yrdl had an owl with a message that had her bursting into tears and running to Jade.

Jade, rather than try to unravel the sobbing child's incoherent distress gently took the letter from her.

It read, in poorly spelled illiterate German,

"Dear Daughter,

you finds us most unhappy because the baby has tooken bad and is like to die in this heat, but I has to tell you. Ma ain't so good either. We hopes you is well, your father."

Jade picked up Yrdl, big girl of eleven as she was – in age, at least, for as a goblin she was no bigger than eight-year-old Lilith – and took her to Severus.

He read the letter, put together some herbs, picked up a small cauldron, gazed into Yrdl's eyes and they apparated directly into the goblins' house.

There were shrieks from the children.

Severus bowed.

"Pray forgive the intrusion….where is the sick little one?"

Seeing Yrdl with this strange witch and wizard the oldest ones pointed wordlessly.

Severus went through into the other room, as mean as the main room, both with plaster falling off the walls continually, dusty and hot in the continental summer.

The adult female goblin by the bed looked up and cowered in terror, shielding the baby with her body.

"Excuse my rudeness, I beg, Madam" said Severus "For bursting in without ceremony; Fraulein Brewer has given us to understand that in Germany comings and goings of humans to goblin dwellings are taken note of and so direct apparation seemed safer to your family…. The baby is sick? I am a Potioneer of some eminence….."

The woman saw Yrdl coming in, too, holding the hand of the young witch…this then must be the girl with the odd name that Yrdl had written about, Fraulein Breuer's English friend.

"You are English?" she gasped. All that she had heard of the English was scary….save what Fraulein Breuer said, and all that SHE had said had been so, so far; Yrdl had written long happy letters of her friends, most of whom seemed to be human; and how much she was learning.

"I am Gnadige Frau" said Severus.

Gunde, Yrdle's mother looked at him to see if he mocked; there was no derision in his black eyes.

"It is custom in England to call even goblins gracious lady?" she wondered.

Severus smiled ruefully.

"We have not such pretty customs of address I fear in England for anyone; I should say in England, 'Madam'. Not all have well bred manners however I fear. But the babe…. It is I who have brewed potions for your painful problems and to enable you to choose the times of your fertility if that is any recommendation."

Gunde flushed. It was not what she was used to, having female problems mentioned by a man; but a Potioneer….. he must brew such as was needed of course.

"They have been most efficacious" she said. "Thank you for sending the packets so carefully, that they just appear out of nowhere!"

Severus smiled. That had been clever of Seagh so as not to frighten them!

"We are happy to go to any lengths for the families of our pupils" he murmured. "I will need to use my wand on him to determine the trouble."

Gunde nodded. She understood; and she trusted.

Severus cast the revellaspell on the sick, fevered baby; he was about nine months old.

"He is fully weaned?" he asked.

Gunde nodded; her milk had dried up too soon not to wean him as early as she could, milk was hard to get hold of and she told the strange, grim wizard this.

"It is a part of the trouble" he sighed "That he is not so well protected against disease; and the one that clings to your skirts shows signs of it also."

Gunde burst into tears.

Yrdl ran to her.

"Yrdl, you have twin sisters I believe" said Severus "Fetch them."

Yrdl dropped the little curtsey that was the prerogative of the head as Jade picked up the two year old. Severus looked sharply at her belly but shrugged. Jade was rudely healthy and hardly likely to take a disease he had thought extinct.

Gunde had stared at her daughter's curtsey; they DID make a difference then? But then this human girl also dropped a little curtsey to the man.

"Were you thinking what I was thinking domine?" she asked.

"Getting this poor woman and the babes for a few weeks to a cooler clime? Yes" said Severus.

"But – I cannot leave! My husband….."

"will feel the loss more if you die along with these two little ones and cannot therefore return to him" said Severus harshly. "You two – Vava and Hette, wasn't it? You can cook and clean for papa for a few weeks so mama and the babies can go and get well, can't you?"

The twins, overwhelmed to have their names known, nodded solemnly.

"I will brew a cooling draught and a soothing one to help him sleep cool" said Severus "And we must tell your husband; but I cannot treat you properly in these cramped conditions. There is too much risk of it spreading to the older ones if you go down with it; and I fear you too show symptoms, Gnadige Frau."

"Is Mama going to die?" asked one of the twins.

"Oh not if I'm in charge of caring for her" said Severus. "I would like to take you all away; but I do not know what risks that may place on others in your community…."

"They would be questioned if we disappeared" said Gunde dully. "Besides, what would we do?"

"So I feared….as to what you would do, there are better places to work in England though it is never easy being a refugee; I can offer some work as a cauldron maker and mender at the school but not a lot, unless your husband is skilled in metalworking and enchanting generally."

Gunde shook her head.

"He has worked on the line making cauldrons since he was nine years old; he has had no opportunity to learn any more."

"If, however, he had the opportunity to experiment in pewter, might he then use his skills with a hammer to make jewellery as souvenirs for the visitors?" suggested Jade. "Muggles visit; they would not look for enchanted items, but things to remind them of their visit; tiny trains perhaps on bracelets as what muggles call charm bracelets; boxes with the view of the mountain in raised work?"

"I do not think he is artistic" said Gunde dubiously.

"We could ask" said Jade. "Is there a break at the factory any time?"

"He has ten minutes to take a drink in a short while" said Yrdl "Because I did too."

Jade observed her critically.

"You look too much the English schoolgirl to go talk to him" she said.

"I will change" said Yrdl. "I will tell him all about your suggestions and how Mama must come to the good clean mountain air. But how could he come too and do souvenirs without harming the neighbours?"

"Why, one or two at a time as he sorrows over them dying of the plague of course" said Jade "This is black goblin fever, isn't it dad?"

"Yes" said Severus shortly, looking up from his brewing "I wasn't going to be so blunt about it."

Gunde gasped.

"Nobody ever recovers from that!"she whispered.

"Nonsense!" said Severus shortly "I know a recipe for a very good specific; but you'll not recover fully here that I DO guarantee. The recipe is so good that the disease hasn't been seen in England for a hundred and fifty years or more; Albus Dumbledore mentioned once that the last case was when he was a very small boy and it was newsworthy that there had been an outbreak. Ah, yes Yrdl; most unlike your normal self but more suitable; off you run!"

"Yes domine!" said Yrdl, bobbing her curtsey and heading off at a run.

Severus watched her go with affection. She was a dear little girl!

The younger ones were watching him suspiciously from a safe distance; and Jade who had their second youngest brother in her arms.

She was casting cooling charms on him, and with a hand on the baby on him too.

"We could chant, domine" she suggested.

"And alert the whole neighbourhood" said Severus.

"Oh. Yes. Sorry" said Jade.

"In a life and death situation I'd not hesitate; but though he's ill we have at least overnight before he starts declining rapidly" said Severus "And THAT means he will be well by tomorrow evening once we get him to the mountains."

The next youngest, a little girl, came and leaned on Jade.

"Do you give cuddles to girls too?" she asked wistfully "Mama is too tired to cuddle."

Gunde was looking horrified until Jade just lifted the child onto her lap.

"It's a little bit hot for a long cuddle" said Jade "But just a little one; because even when it's too hot cuddles are proper."

The little one leaned against her.

"Now I think you're about the same age as my little sister Ismenia, who comes between Sevnev and Draxie" said Jade "What is your name?"

"Rechen" said the moppet "I's nearly five."

"Why then you are almost exactly the same age as Ismenia" said Jade "She's nearly five too! What fun for her to have another friend her own age; Volly and Esya are cousins and both Russian so they like to play together. In fact I should think I have little brothers and sisters about the same age as all of you; or at least, daddy's wards. Or only a bit older and younger; we have a long family" she said cheerfully "Ah good, he's dropped off" she added as the infant boy became a dead weight in sleep. "Off you hop, Rechen; little girls have wrigglesome bottoms and we don't want him waking too soon do we?"

Rechen wasn't sure she cared if Oraz was awake or not; he was too malnourished to be loudly miserable; but she got down obediently.

Yrdl came flying back in.

"Papa says leave it to the domine to organise" she said firmly.

Her father had taken one look at how much she had grown, and how happy and healthy she looked and decided to place his future, his family and his life in the hands of the English who had done her so much good.

Severus was pouring off potion and set it to cool.

"A draught for you Gnadige Frau and each of these youngest ones when it is cool; it will stabilise the babe enough to travel. What are your burial customs here?"

"We must bury our own dead in the place set aside for it" said Gunde.

"Ah, excellent" said Severus, his black eyes gleaming. "So if your good spouse is seen wheelling a barrow with one large and say three small bundles on it, and buries them, no-one will interfere?"

Gunde caught on.

So did Yrdl, who gave a squeal of delight and hugged Severus hard.

Gunde gasped.

"Well now, leave me SOME breath to blow my coffee!" laughed Severus, ruffling her hair. "Why don't you twins go and try to buy something like fruit that would be cooling and say mournfully how ill mama and the three smallest are, burning up with fever and horrid black spots in their mouths?"

"Some might try to burn the apartment with us and our neighbours in it" said Gunde. "Though I think the watch will stop that…..they might barricade us in."

"So much the better; we just apport you all out then" said Severus. "If they break down the barricades in the cooler weather they will just assume you found a way to escape….it's the easiest explanation and all people like the easiest solution. You've no running water have you? So you'd die quickly anyway and so little suspicion about your lack of starving moans." He sighed "My conscience wants to go round all this neighbourhood with healing draughts; but if I do that I'll bring trouble on them all, won't I?"

Gunde nodded violently.

"Yes, noble wizard" she said. "Twins, say not about the black spots; only that we are ill. Pardon, noble one for changing your suggestion"

"You know best how your neighbours react" said Severus "And if it would make them act violently to these little ones….ah I am correct in that guess?"

Gunde nodded.

Severus nodded to the twins; and passed them a handful of knuts.

"For the fruit" he said "It will look suspicious will it not to have silver?"

They nodded and ran out.

Severus dosed the two smallest and handed a cup to Gunde, who drank the bitter liquid quickly.

Severus opened the baby's mouth.

"Ah, see how quickly the spots reduce in size?" he said. "With good mountain air he will recover in no time!"

Rit, the father came in.

"Rit? You are early!" gasped Gunde.

"I will not prey upon the time of the noble English wizard" said Rit with dignity "I am paid by the cauldron; I take less pay, with excuse that one of my daughters comes to tell me how much iller my family is….so I come and place myself in your hands, my lord, and at your command."

"Thank you for your trust" said Severus; and quickly explained his idea, that each of the family should supposedly die in turn.

"And I will make trinkets" said Rit "This I have never done; but I can make fine rings for the handles and sometimes chased rings to go on the side are wanted and fancy legs; these I have done. But will there be someone who will buy the metal? I cannot set up on my own. I need an employer."

"No, Mein Herr, you need a partner" said Severus "I will put up the money; you will put up the knowhow. It will take time to learn what you want to make and what sells; I fear you must swallow your pride and be my pensioner for that period."

"Why would you do this?" asked Rit.

"Because your family's existence has brought a girl like Anett Breuer to realisation that she must fight Odessa and fight injustice" said Severus "Because she is important in that fight as a Hochgeborn German girl of pure blood that others will listen to; and because even if all the rest of your children are as dull as ditchwater you have produced a remarkably clever little girl in Yrdl and any decent schoolmaster will move heaven and earth to facilitate learning for such; and in my book seeing that the family of my pupils are well cared for comes into that. Because too it is a primary blow against the ill treatment of goblinkind in Germany to show you other ways; that your children may wish to join us in the fight. Yrdl already dreams of owning factories that pay better than anyone else to shame them; and she has every chance of achieving that with the skills she shows. In a clever class she is one of the cleverer. Do NOT get a swollen head young woman you'll never get your school hat on!" he added waspishly.

Yrdl giggled.

Now Professor Snape was overseeing all, it would be all right!

Soon Gunde and her three youngest children were established in the sanatorium wing; Severus would sort out family accommodation for the whole family at the rail head near the rest of the goblin and wizarding community; the younger children would mount daily to do school lessons in the castle and the older amongst them would board during the worst weather.

Severus was wondering about formally starting a junior school to start small people who had precious little care in a habit of being trilingual as well as the day pupils. He did not approve of boarding schools for the very small, but if it were an orphanage as the Hogwarts Orphanage was with pupils in from the local community too, there would be no harm. The muggles had a village school, but it could be seen that the cable car was more convenient to the children of the hoteliers and railway staff than going right down the valley to the village school.

It should also discourage the wealthier muggle peasants from trying to pay to send their children to the day school and thereby causing some embarrassment.

It was, as Severus predicted, not long before the baby perked up considerably; and little Oraz too who avoided the full blown disease. Gunde was ill for a couple of days, for she was much pulled from nursing, and being able to rest completely – Sirri bullied her gently into taking it easy as there were PLENTY of people to see to the babes – she just collapsed.

And for doing it sooner rather than later was the less ill for it.

Once they were out of all danger, Severus went to collect the next three boys; which included the boy Anett had healed, as he shyly and proudly told Severus.

"Well, my boy, I am glad she has done it well" said Severus "I have had to do as much for some of my children; for in my family it is a condition that happens regularly, to some degree or another; and too a slightly hunched back. My foot needed straightening as a child you know."

Hiob was his adoring worshipper from that moment; this tall, athletic wizard had had a twisted foot too! That Professor Snape also had a little boy called Richard born with the same complaint the same age as Hiob filled the cup of the little boy completely; and he was determined to do all he could to win the friendship of the English boy. This meant he also had to be friends with Motti, a Russian elf; and even more proof that the English were both insane and wonderful people that friendship came first not race!

When Severus went a couple of days later it was to find Rit and the twins barricaded in. The little girls ran to him in relief, for they had been half afraid they would die before he came to them.

Severus hugged them both; and took all three back to the Prinzhorn with their most prized possessions to make their new home homely.

He had organised a small chalet now; quick enough to build using magic and told the twins to keep house with their possessions then come up to the heights until he was sure they too were free from sickness.

He cast disease destroying spells in the carefully pieced quilts that were Gunde's finest possessions and in the clothing; it would be safe for them to return to when the weather cooled.

And then the Triwizard was upon them; and the little family would want to watch, to see how Anett did too, for she was their patron.

The rules of this task were simple enough; go through the maze and be the first one to the portkey to get out. Of course traversing the maze was another matter entirely; it had been devised, after all, by Albus Dumbledore.

They went off strictly according to the position gained by their efforts in the previous tasks; so Jade was first and Lionel eight seconds behind her.

She would have to make the most of that start and not make foolish mistakes.

Dumbledore was fair. Wily and tortuous; but fair.

And they all had a chance to meet up before being sent in and Jade was able to see Anett briefly.

"We had to shift Yrdl's family" she said urgently "There was sickness…. We have them safe."

Anett looked relieved.

"Thanks" she said shortly. It might have sounded ungracious; but for her blood sister Jade there was a wealth of meaning in that single word. Anett might act as she chose, even defect if she wished to; but Anett was of sterner duty.

She would remain.

And even get close to Herzog Von Frettchen; for he was in the audience with visiting dignitaries, and waved to his country's champion. Anett smiled austerely back.

"The Duke is disposed to think me clever to cultivate a friendship with the English girl of Prince Peak" she said softly "To learn the mysteries of your success."

Jade laughed.

"No mystery about THAT" she said "I'm good."

And then she was called.

There was an arch over the entrance – chillingly like the arches over labour camps and Jade half expected to see words like 'arbeit mak frei' on it; for Dumbledore had a fine sense of irony. The shape was almost certainly chosen on purpose because he knew she and Lionel at least would appreciate it. The words on it actually read;

"Be well primed if you would win"

"Wily old scrote" said Jade with more accuracy than courtesy. Prime numbers then came into it. Did the gate count as number one? No probably not. Jade went into the straight wall-lined corridor – very reminiscent of the one in the film Labyrinth, they should never have let Dumbledore watch muggle films! – and sought exits off. This bit should be easy if counting was the thing.

Actually he HAD been influenced by Labyrinth; the exits were not obvious and Jade found she had to look quite hard to see them.

"Thank you Jareth and goodnight" she said dryly, taking the first.

That had been on the left.

The first two openings off this were on the right; that at least was civil of Dumbledore if he planned to alternate. She took the second. She kicked the boggart that leaped out right over the wall.

Then the third, on the left; and the fifth on the right.

Behind her Lionel's voice was cursing gently and he shouted

"_Ridikulus!"_

A cloud of doxies were buzzing around.

"_Poxydoxytoxin_" said Jade without breaking stride. The doxies dropped in a cloud.

After the fifth turning she was in a square and three acromantulas started advancing.

Jade glanced at each in turn to cast multiple spells and – for effect – combined the twinkletoes curse with the tarantallegra curse and the three great spiders – four foot brutes – were immediately dancing wildly to honky-tonk piano sounds. Jade grinned. That ought to confuse anyone behind her! As she went on through the only exit, opposite the way she had come in, she absently tailored the spell to be the theme music of the muggle wireless show 'the Archers'.

There was a door down a short passage.

The door was covered in locks and hasps and a panel in the middle with mosaic squares, a grid of five by five.

"Surely not that easy?" said Jade. "Oh well, here goes nothing."

She pressed down squares one, two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen and nineteen.

The door opened.

She slid through and it clanged shut behind her.

If Lionel was on the right track it wouldn't hold him up long but maybe the boggart had delayed him a little. She had, after all, barely broken stride for the acromantulas; which would no longer trouble anyone else either.

If Dumbledore was using both goblin devices and labyrinth she must watch out for traps.

And duly she avoided the swinging slab to precipitate one downward. She paused briefly and got out her wand to write in fire writing 'trap' on the slab.

That was only civil after all. If the delay and the help to Lionel with that cost her the contest, then she would rather lose with honour than win with what she saw as dishonour.

Jade's moral code was sometimes rather complex like that.

She came to a pair of doors side by side with caryatids on the outer sides. There were words on an arch enclosing both.

"One of us always lies and one of us always tells the truth" read the legend.

"Albus, you sick, evil, twisted individual" remarked Jade without rancour.

Jade sighed and addressed the left hand caryatid. They were actually Telamones, sometimes called Atlantes, male supporters and suspiciously Bauhaus in appearance and distinct caricatures of Gerhardt.

"All right I know how this works; if I asked HIM if this left hand door is the correct door, what would he say?" she asked the left hand figure.

The left hand figure thought about this.

"He would say it was correct" he said.

"So if HE is the liar and you tell truth, it is the right hand door; and if YOU are the liar and he tells truth it is still the right hand door" said Jade and confidently turned the right hand door's handle. "Really, this is a sick and twisted enough maze to have been devised by a ruddy Ravenclaw! By the way, Albus, Gerhardt's got a lot fatter since you modelled the statues."

That ought to irritate a few people.

The passage here was all enclosed; and filled with clashing stones that came together with wickedly meshing iron spikes. It was hard to see what was ahead.

"Hmmm, best not to apparate through in case there's a pit or something on the other side" said Jade thoughtfully. She counted the period that the stones were parted to safely run through; then suddenly laughed out loud.

And transfigured the clashing stones into ice, simultaneously heating them to melt them quite away.

It took a minute or so; and Lionel joined her.

"Nice work" he said "I appear again to be the gainer from your ingenuity."

"You're not exactly a novice yourself" said Jade.

"Shall I count eight seconds and let you go on ahead to reset the advantage as it's your charms have let me catch up?"

"That's jolly decent and sporting of you Lion old man; no, let us go forth together, there is a precedent after all."

"And that's decent and sporting of you" said Lionel. "Let us wade through melted ice water."

They did so; and as Jade suspected there was a trap just beyond, a floor of nails. They hovered over gently, Lionel firing a rope from his wand to adhere to a far wall to pull himself across it, Jade just flying.

"That's a neat trick" said Lionel.

"Yes, we nicked it from Voldemort" said Jade "I'll teach you later when we have some time."

"Cheers" said Lionel, reflecting that their calm conversation would not be out of place at a ball rather than at a rather tough competition.

They emerged again into daylight; and the walls were old dead stumps.

Jade groaned.

"I know what THIS is" she said.

"Yeah" said Lionel "Snargaluff. And just when I was congratulating myself that we were both undamaged."

"You take the left I take the right?" said Jade.

"You could fly right over the top" said Lionel.

"I think that constitutes cheating" said Jade "I bet Albus has put up a ward to stop it."

"Nip up and see; I don't want to have a joint win if you can do this with your unique skills" demanded Lionel.

Jade nodded. She could appreciate that.

She hit a wall – or rather, a ceiling.

"He thought of that" she said. "I think I'm kinda glad."

"Well so am I; but for different reasons!" laughed Lionel. "Ready?"

Jade nodded.

"Ready" she said.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

As the two youngsters approached the gnarled old stumps thorny vines whipped out.

Without gloves this would be agonising.

Jade gave a yell of inspiration.

"Call yourself a witch, Snape!" she upbraided herself and conjured a pair of gloves. Lionel laughed and copied her.

"NOW we have a fighting chance" he said.

Jade was still worrying about her baby. Albus did not know of course; else he might have used something else.

"Hold one… quick chant laddie and we can set up a physical shield spell too…. Three, two, one…."

They began chanting and moved in perfect synchrony down the thorny passage, tying the thorny appendages together.

Jade absently extracted a snargaluff pod or two from the holes formed in the knots, and shrugged.

Lionel understood; you never knew when you might need such, and having flesh-devouring pods might actually come in handy. It would be just like Albus to have provided a means of protection in the very traps of his maze. He pulled a couple out too.

And they were through.

Jade grinned and sang an appropriate verse from 'Thomas the Rhymer'

_"Don't you see yon narrow, narrow road, sae thickly set wi' thorns and briars_

_Yon is the road tae righteousness though afther it but few enquires."_

They sang together the chorus,

_"Harp and carp, come along with me, Thomas the Rhymer…"_

Jade pointed ahead and commented in song, continuing the theme

_"Don't you see yon bonny, bonny road that lies across the ferny brae_

_yon is the road tae fair elfland where you and I this night must gae"_

"I believe you're right" said Lionel. "And I bet we get attacked by something…."

He was right too.

The half dozen Redcap-like fey burst out of the bracken, wielding clubs.

The two youngsters promptly threw their Snargaluff pods at four of them – and as fine quidditch and cricket players both, their aim was good – and took one of the remainder each. Jade turned hers into a giant hovering woodlouse and Lionel stupefied his. They had not broken stride. The four empodded ones fought with the obscene green pods that were busy trying to engulf their heads.

Shortly after this the brae opened up; and there was a Sphinx.

"Two of you?" she said. "That's irregular"

"Eccentric" said Jade "Not irregular. We're English; being eccentric goes with the territory."

"Well I shall ask a riddle; first to answer it goes on, the other must answer another riddle" said she.

"Fair enough" said Lionel.

The sphinx said,

"A greedy worm in youth I then devour

until of greed I slumber like the dead

when I awake I sup from every flower

and clad in rainbow hues fly forth instead."

Lionel and Jade looked at each other and pronounced in one voice,

"Butterfly".

The sphinx looked faintly outraged.

"You'd better both go on" she said huffily.

Jade curtseyed and Lionel bowed.

Sometimes good manners were wise.

Past the sphinx there was a pedestal on which was written

"When I am solved you will know what state

to turn me and shift me to orientate."

There was an arithmantic equation.

"Albus just HAD to have asked Filius Flitwick to come up with some of this nonsense" said Jade "I know that as Gryffs go he's a devious old so-and-so but really!"

"Well you Prince Peakers stole Severus so he has to pick someone else almost as tortuous" said Lionel "Looks easy enough."

They solved it out loud in their heads; took hold of the pedestal together and turned it.

There was that horrid feeling of shifting as they set it down and they appeared, pedestal and all, in front of the judges.

Albus Dumbledore was beaming at them.

"You are one sick puppy, sir" said Jade curtseying to him.

Lionel bowed.

"Seconded" he said.

"I'm so glad you enjoyed my maze" said Albus grinning impishly.

"Enjoyed…. Well I could think of a few other adjectives but let us let that go sir" said Jade. "Where are the others?"

"Lost I fear in the realms of a lack of arithmantic education" said Dumbledore.

"You mean we were the only ones who read the first clue aright?" said Lionel aghast.

"I fear so my boy" said Dumbledore "Marshals are now collecting them."

"Crumbs!" said Jade with feeling. "The whole thing was Arithmancy…. If you count the Waffling logic NAND calculation of the Telamone columns. THAT was nasty."

"You did rather mess with my goblin clockwork clashing rocks inside there though so you had your revenge, my dear" said Dumbledore cheerfully.

"Meh, transfiguration is my main thing" said Jade. "It's supposed to test the way you use your strengths and minimise your weaknesses, right?"

"Quite so, my dear; quite so" said Dumbledore.

The other three contestants were led out of the maze. Judging by the cuts and abrasions and the fact that Anett had horribly lacerated palms they had met Snargaluffs at other points in the maze; and Timothée looked distinctly ill.

Jade looked at Lionel.

"Acromantula?" she asked the French boy. He nodded.

Jade and Lionel started chanting and the boy's colour started returning to normal, and he flexed fingers that had feeling returning.

"You'll want to nip out of sight for a pee any time now" said Jade "We cleared it through your bladder."

Timothée grinned shakily

"Sank you very much" he said.

Anett had been healing her own cuts; and was shaken as the blood song hit her to aid her.

"Did you have aid from that during?" she asked Jade. Jade looked surprised.

"Of course not!" she said "Nor did you! It's not done – unless either of us was likely to die. Any more than Lionel had help from HIS group; and I don't even have to ask him that because his honour is impeccable!"

"I am sorry…. I wondered if, to make sure….."

"We are not like the German ministry to cheat" said Jade quietly. "And I would relish winning by cheating as much as you; in other words not at all. You missed the clue on the gate; about prime numbers."

"What are prime numbers?" asked Anett.

"Lumme, you never even had THAT much Arithmancy? They're numbers that cannot be divided by anything except themselves and one. There's an infinite number but you rarely need them past fifty three. After two itself of course, they're all odd numbers or they could be divided by two; but not, of course every odd number. Fifty one for example is divisible by three and seventeen….it's immensely important for some ritual and goblins set great store by prime numbers…..look, you'd better take a course in Arithmancy when you're teaching with us. It's the basis of all higher magic."

Anett grinned.

"Can I mention that you said that of it when talking to the Herzog? It'll really make him sit forward to hear a phrase like that, higher magic; and then he'll give me a blessing to teach in Prince Peak, in fact I guess he'll urge me to go."

Jade grinned back.

"Go for it, sister mine; great idea. Amazing, isn't it, that these Odessa types can't find the secrets of higher magic the way we did – by poking around old tomes and doing it by trial and error. It's all been written about; it's just a case of extracting, extrapolating and putting together ideas that sound like they ought to be combined."

"Not some secret, long held ritual of information passed from headmaster to headmaster?" Anett was amazed.

"Nope. A load of stuff put together by one adult wizard who had taught himself chanting out of books – dad – and half a dozen teenage witches and wizards and the odd suggestion by us babes and the eleven year olds who were all young enough to cut through complexity and have the odd bright idea" said Jade.

"Well!" said Anett. "However, very talented and flexible teenagers."

"Granted" said Jade "Hermione and mum vie for being the brightest witch of their age; Neville and Ron are steadfast and true; Harry IS the quidsats hadarach and Draco is the reserve. And I'll explain THAT old joke another time as it's too long an explanation for now, and here comes your noble friend" she added.

Herzog Von Frettchen came and clicked his heels. Anett curtseyed and so did Jade.

"Herzog Von Frettchen…..Fraulein Jade Snape" Anett introduced them

The Duke kissed Jade's hand as she extended it.

"Jade was explaining to me the meaning of the clue" said Anett "I had never heard of Prime Numbers for I never took Arithmancy as an elective. She says it is the basis of all higher magics."

The start of surprise was almost covered. Almost.

Jade permitted herself a small, rather superior smile.

"Of course in the better English schools we consider it essential to give an arithmantic grounding in the basics before electives are chosen; nobody who has failed to study Arithmancy can truly say they are a student of magic; for without the basis of all the theoretical background, how can any who are thus deficient be anything but dabblers? It is a shame that this has not been made clear in Durmstrang when the electives were presented to the students, that they make clear sighted choices. Why, ritual is virtually impossible without Arithmancy; and without ritual, magic is little more than a pretty toy."

"Ach, so?" said the Duke, assimilating. "I studied Arithmancy at school; but of ritual little."

Read, none, thought Jade.

She beamed.

"It is the different approaches I suppose; I have noticed that in our own history, the ministry was inclined to limit what was taught because the fools feared the headmaster at Hogwarts and his most stalwart pupils. Now we have an oligarchy drawn from the powerful and some of those of popular choice and not control by the inept, self-seeking puppets of the rich who seek only to cover themselves with glory and avoid losing power, there is no need to act repressively out of fear of the people, goblin, human or otherwise. When power is in the hands of an hereditary few it is honour and family honour that shape their actions; and as they need not fear losing office they do not have to scrape around for popular votes regardless of the ah, greater good. Horrid phrase; so easily abused, don't you think, but I cannot think offhand of a better one."

The Duke actually agreed with her sentiments on hereditary; and was surprised to hear such thus expressed. The concept of fearing goblins or the common herd made him uncomfortable. As did her comments on the Odessa motto 'for the greater good'.

He murmured a few polite words and begged Anett to introduce him to the other champions so he could congratulate the other joint champion and commiserate with the others.

And then there were formal presentations; and Jade and Lionel grinned cheerfully and told the wizarding wireless and wizarding wireless vision that with so little to pick between them good sportsmanship had dictated that there had been no choice but to go on together.

"I picked up the time on the bezoar in the second task" said Lionel "Jade is better than me really; but I can't express too often how delighted I am to have had the chance to follow in the footsteps of my hero, David Fraser; now, like him I have been head boy and Triwizard Champion; though unlike him I do not intend to referee quidditch. I have too healthy a respect for my own skin! I am going to be an auror, if I pass my training."

"Pratt" said Jade amicably "Talking about respecting your skin in one breath and then admitting to auror training in the next? Anyone would take you for a Gryffindor like David!"

"Hey, there's no need to be THAT insulting!" grinned Lionel.

"As the good people of the wizarding world can see, Lionel and I are on good terms" said Jade "And there seems less age between us now, for when I was in the middle school he was a much respected junior prefect and woe betide any of us he caught at mischief; I have always liked and respected Lionel."

"And I have always liked and been awed by the capabilities of Jade" said Lionel "And though at the time I was not pleased with Professor Snape for taking away our seeker who also looked to being a luminary of our House, I am glad now because it gives us the chance to BOTH take this trophy; rather than, had we been together, the Goblet of Fire choosing one of us. And I fancy" he added "It would not have been me."

Jade shrugged.

"Glad neither of us has to know that" she said. "Though I am only sorry that the other schools are deficient in even basic Arithmancy so we didn't get a better run for our money – through NO fault of the other candidates. It is extraordinary to think that such basic background theory was missed from their curricula. Why, attempting to do magic without a grounding in Arithmancy is like going out without underwear on!"

"She gets her graphic similes from her mother" quipped Lionel "I'm not touching a straight line like THAT, Jade, for all the tea in China."

Jade grinned.

"And what are your plans for the future, Fraulein Snape, after leaving school?" asked a German reporter.

"Oh settle down to marriage and raise babies" said Jade "And maybe go back to teaching when my little family grows up a little. And in my spare time I shall be doing research into music in magic; I should like to see it established as a proper subject on the curriculum, separated from, albeit allied too, chanting. One may excel at chanting without being musical; but there are subtleties and nuances in the use of music in magic that need to be explored. The hypnotic song of Veeli for example; and the fabled Elf-King's tune. It's been a hobby of mine and now I get the opportunity to truly explore it."

"Errr, I see" said the reporter who plainly didn't.

It was however a point that would endear her to many traditional Germans, that she wished to settle down to married life; such was in ordnung for a lovely Fraulein!

An English reporter, a woman, asked,

"Will you then be considering taking a year at Corbin's Higher Academy for Ladies?"

"What, those crass amateurs?" scoffed Jade "Never met a Corbin yet who knew a quarter as much as they thought they do; they teach nothing there but a few pretty theories that dabble at the edges of ritual and higher magic. It's a funk house for girls still enamoured of the safety of school who want to learn useless but high-sounding twaddle because they can't manage to get a man."

The reporter laughed.

"Well sweetie, your views tally with mine, but my sister went there so I wondered if someone as academically inclined as you might like it."

"Anyone as academically inclined as me would eschew it" said Jade caustically "I take learning seriously. Any one of the candidates for the Triwizard from Prince Peak or Hogwarts could chew up and spit out the ladies of Corbin's. After all, he couldn't teach his own daughter simple magic; it was left to a classmate of hers when she got to Hogwarts. And the moment her father disowned her and she got adopted her grades improved. He's a grade O class one prize prune and top of the leader board of lackwit failures."

"You know this girl?"

"I'll say" said Jade "She's my adopted sister; 'cos dad gave her confidence and the tools to be a very competent witch. She didn't take many OWLs, only seven, but she got straight 'O's across the board. And she never bothered with NEWTs because she preferred to get married. Ill treatment in early life has an effect on academic attainment you know. And her husband, who has six 'O' grade NEWTs reckons her clever enough to hold serious discussion with so sucks to Branard Corbin and his delusions of adequacy."

The reporter, Jonquil Seaman, who had made comments in similar vane to her younger sister Lara, a year older than David Fraser, was delighted.

"Is it true too that Professor Snape intends to bring in specialist subjects of study at Prince Peak like the use of music and art in magic?" she asked.

Her sister was an artist who rather fancied herself.

"Yes; art may be used in cosmetic transfiguration in a gentler way than a spell, as well as proving very useful if the artist is also a seer, since there is then a record of visions" said Jade "You need to talk to dad about it in more detail really; he'll explain it all. The idea is that as Hogwarts provides all round academic excellence we would aim at providing a base for more esoteric subjects. Without of course compromising excellence in basic subjects. We have six compulsory OWL courses, dad adds Herbology to the Hogwarts mandatory studies, but with more specialist skills available it would be open to negotiation to drop one in favour of developing a true talent if need be. In a small school it is easier to concentrate on the needs of an individual; and dad is not in favour of letting Prince Peak grow too large. It would take away the nature of it; bear in mind it's about the size of one of the houses at Hogwarts" said Jade. "Everyone knows everyone else; and so there's the opportunity for us all to bring each other on with encouragement. I guess it's suit those who needed remedial lessons too because of that; and already we've seen its benefit – that and the good mountain air – to delicate children who would never overcome ill health in the rough and tumble of a pile like Hogwarts. Me, I sometimes miss the rough and tumble; but it isn't for everyone."

"Well thank you for that" said Jonquil Seaman with thoughts of how she could publish as much as possible of what Jade said without the Times being hit by a libel suit from Corbin.

Seagh meanwhile had found Heinrich Nachtigall in the spectators and sang,

"Two world wars and three triwizards, doodah, doodah

Odessa defeat stuck in their gizzards, oh doodah day"

He stood and laughed in the face of attempted curses and jinxes with his shield secure, enjoying their growing frustration.

This was to be the class his sister would be joining; and it would be as well to know their capabilities and signature spells to pass to Jade.

He only wished he knew what had happened about Nachtigall's dirigible backside.

Jade should have no trouble with them; they seemed all of them quite inept at casting curses, even the ones who tried the cruciatus curse.

It was tempting to let fly simultaneous jinxes at all seven, Nachtigall and his half dozen cronies; but Severus had suggested that it was better not to jinx them at all. He would gain as much satisfaction out of knowing that they knew he did not need to retaliate.

"My!" said Seagh, with simulated astonishment "Ye're a sorry bunch o' wee jessies so ye are. Gin ye ivver learn ony spells, ye ken fine where I can be lookit up; Ah'm sick o' yer inept havers the noo."

And there was a ball to round off the competition.

Jade managed to grab Anett on her way down.

"What happened about Nachtigall's floating bum and the swooping cursers?" she demanded.

"Did YOU do that to him? It was hilarious! The potion to restore his weight didn't work and he swore – actually SWORE – at Herr Rebet who told him that if he was going to act like that he should beware of anything else he ever ate and drank at school because there were worse things a potioneer could do to a man than merely poison him. And then suddenly he fell to the floor with an almighty crash. What did you DO?"

"It's a jinx that encloses your farts and turns them to hydrogen in a bubble until you float" said Jade "How long before it burst under its own pressure?"

"About two days" giggled Anett. "And what else did you ask? Was that the things like snitches that follow Madam Schrempf around that she is not fast enough to catch?"

"That's right; swooping cursers. Crumbs, you mean she hasn't even transfigured them into birds to get rid of them?"

"I don't think she thought of that….she burned her own bedcurtains blasting them I believe, but they still follow."

"Still? Gosh I must have had a bargain batch….either that or I accidentally extended them when I souped then up. I wanted something a bit more complex that the usual short sentence or selection of random swear words. Is that why she's not around?"

"Yes, Madam Bacsó said that if a teacher of the Dark Arts could not even get rid of mechanical irritants she had no right to embarrass the school by being seen with her attendant nymphs in public."

Jade chuckled.

"Attendant nymphs? I like that. Madam Bacsó is a grade O bitch but she has her moments."

"She can be decent enough at times" said Anett "It is a shame she supports Odessa; she is an opportunist you see. Though actually, though she likes the ideals I think she now less supports Odessa for they have brought her nothing but failure and embarrassment; as in Herr Hesse challenging Professor Dumbledore. What happened? Do you know?"

"He slung the killing curse at Albus who decided that he would make a nice baby. So he made a total transfiguration mind and all, into an infant. Hesse's followers could not, or would not attempt to reverse it; and my sister has since surreptitiously made it irreversible by using Finnish magic."

"Excuse me? Finishing magic?"

"No, the magic of Finland; using true names. It's easy enough, I never formally studied comparative magic even to OWL but I can pull a Finnish chant out of the bag to do it. Lydia's actually studying comparative magic so she should be better than me with that. She's a canny chanter, that I DO know. Anyway, she used the ritual to really change his name to Perceval Filius Harry Dumbledore – Albus adopted him – so he isn't Helmut Hesse any more so all the mandragora in the world won't change him back even if brewed using his true name. It was a tough little ritual; I'm dead proud of my sister for thinking of it" she added.

"You people really do think of magic on a different level to everyone else" said Anett, awed.

Jade quite enjoyed this ball; the thought of Hedda Schrempf still being tormented by swooping cursers was sweet.

Also, Madam Bacsó asked her as in passing, about a girl called Nephrita Malfoy.

"She is lower sixth" said Jade as though without enthusiasm "Her birthday fell outside the competition date. She is not with the other candidates."

"Do you know her well?"

"Because I am her technical cousin? It does not always follow that cousins should like each other at all let alone be friends" said Jade coldly "I try not to know her; her attitudes are not such as I approve. What do you want with Nephrita. Madam Bacsó?"

"Would it surprise you to learn that she has applied to transfer to Durmstrang?"

Jade did a well simulated double take of surprise.

"I – no, actually on reflection it should not….. she has been on warning for certain comments, perhaps she prefers to leave and go somewhere where her attitudes are not considered shameful rather than be expelled. She can afford the extra fees if that is what you are concerned about; her mother left her well provided for having invested wisely with what Uncle Lucius' family paid HER mother off with. You look surprised; but Lucius is not abashed by his byblows even those by his wife's sister. Which would have been a scandal had it come out at the time I suppose; but he was only about thirteen when he was boffing Cassiopeia or whatever she was at the time calling herself. She changed her name I think. There's a big family tree in the Black family house with wand burns on the ones disowned, and the joke is that one of them is the head of the family now. Sirius had pencilled in all the ones he remembers of course. Some were disowned for things like supporting muggle rights or marrying a muggleborn wizard if you can actually believe attitudes so medieval in their profound stupidity!" Jade rattled on in apparently artless tactlessness just to watch Agata Bacsó seethe.

"She has said nothing of her father?"

"She boasts she is the child of some German aristocrat; I do not doubt this. She reckons she is his sole heir and that of course depends on whether his lands are covered by Sallic law; or indeed if it is true that Voldemort wiped out his entire family as she believes. I was too young to take much interest in the foreign adventures of Voldemort. I know he killed Gellert Grindelwald, who had, they say, the honour to refuse information to the megalomaniac little tick, but what else happened…." She shrugged eloquently "Do you know anything of a Von Strang family Madam Bacsó? If any live you will know for I believe all would be in school age."

"No, we have no Von Strangs here" said Madam Bacsó.

"Well she may be lucky then" said Jade dryly "Ah well; it would have been fun to tell her that her claim was useless; but such is life! Let her claim her potty little German estate and turn her back on being a Malfoy; I for one am not happy to have such a cousin. I hope she changes her name to Von Strang if she is truly coming to you; then she will not be an embarrassment on my mother's family by having a name that anyone will recognise as meaningful."

"The name Von Strang is old and respected" said Agata Bacsó.

"So? But not in ENGLAND" said Jade. "Whereas all over the civilised world, EVERYONE knows the name Malfoy."

Madam Bacsó seethed yet again; but it was true.

Anett managed to get a dance with Mortimer.

"I've been dying to talk to you since Yule" she said "But I never had the chance. I did as you suggested about going to see for myself."

"I felt you blood in too" said Mortimer.

Anett went pink.

"It is good not to be alone" she said. "I think that we are much lied to; though I still want to see for myself how high goblins may aspire; pure bred goblins I mean. I am sponsoring a family to school; and we shall see."

"They'll never be able to go back to their old environs you know" said Mortimer "That's almost a cruelty."

"Yrdl is way too bright to leave uneducated!" said Anett angrily. "Besides, there was sickness….Professor Snape had to move them all out anyhow. The baby was dying, Yrdl sent a letter with Jade, it was black goblin fever."

"You're not serious! That's been extinct for centuries!" said Mortimer.

Anett flushed.

"Not here in Germany" she said "And because it can be caught by humans, they would have been killed."

Mortimer snorted.

"It was almost wiped out by a potioneer not long after the statute of secrecy was passed" he said "And only occasional outbreaks, quickly cured and countered after that. How stupid to ignore a potion simply because it's English!"

"I think it is more likely because it is to cure the major sufferers – goblins" said Anett dryly. "Conditions in which goblins live in Munich – my nearest city – are appalling. And I will wholeheartedly fight against that. And" she sighed "I feel nothing inferior in the blood of Senagra or her brother that sing with mine; that I am beginning to think that it is only fear of numbers that has kobbolds designated as untermenschen."

"We have less in proportion to you; but it was still the case until recently in England" said Mortimer. "Some wizards still try to push us around; and some goblins are still stupid enough to get loud and stroppy about it and make passers by believe the stereotypes. It'll take time. And if things are truly so much worse, then I fear it'll take even longer in your country even if you can sweep away unfair laws."

"But if one does not begin, then a long time becomes forever."

"That's very true" said Mortimer. "And we are all beside you."

Anett smiled at him.

It made her feel very warm to know that.

And it gave her hope that her cause was not hopeless.

The ball ended; and they all went home.

And Jade walked into the arms of her beloved Wulf.

And they must endure a party of congratulations got up by the rest of the school who wanted to show Jade how proud they were of her; and the little ones must needs have a story made of how she felt all the time!

And then at last she might go with her Wulf to the quiet privacy of their bedroom where he could show her more personally how proud he was of her efforts; and where they might together feel the movements of their child who would be born in a couple of months and be thankful that Jade had thought of a chant to protect her belly from the Snargaluffs.

And then she must leave their baby to do her duty.

But Wulf would be ever with her from the deep joining; and that would keep her going.


End file.
